Anyway, Brave Hero
by Her Sweetness
Summary: Matt is an average teen with a boyfriend who flirts with everyone BUT him. One day, Matt is tripped into a world where Prince Mello has been captured by aloof, slightly evil, King Near. Can Matt save this tranny and win his affections? DISCONTINUED.
1. Prologue

A/N: _Hi, guys. Welcome to my newest multi. On the poll that I took, there was a tie between to pairings and so I just picked the one I want to do! XD Maybe this isn't something you're used to, but give me just one chance! _

_Enjoy._

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**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**one.**

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Mario was a bitch.

That's just all there was to it. He was fat, slow, and was always running after Peach who was stupid enough to get herself kidnapped by various villains. No, Mario wasn't as great as everyone thought. Matt came to _this_ conclusion a long time ago but he had just reached the assessment that Luigi was better. No, scratch that, Luigi wasn't just better than Mario… Luigi kicked ass.

Seriously, he was always going on cool adventures of his own. Sure, he got captured sometimes but he was no Peach, that was for sure. And in Luigi's Mansion, he went looking for Mario's crazy ass with a vacuum cleaner strapped to his back and a Gameboy in his pocket.

That was Matt's kind of man.

But Matt didn't _just_ like Luigi. Matt thought Mello was pretty cool too. After all, Mello was real. And rather hot. Mello was probably the best looking guy at the school, and one of the most popular in the Junior class, even though his title sort of agitated Mello. He wanted to be known as the badass he was but it was hard for people to take him seriously when he looked like such a girl. But either way, to Matt, Mello was pretty badass, despite the leather and big blue eyes. And, best part of Mello was that he was all Matt's…

Well, sort of.

As Matt sat in his seat, his DS in his hands under the desk, he glanced up mildly at the blond head in front of him. Mello wasn't particularly listening to Mr. Yagami talking, like always but his head was turned like he was certainly interested in something else. Matt followed his gaze across the room to the second row where a smallish boy, pale all over like snow whirling into a ball, was taking notes at a turtle's pace, occasionally looking up at Mr. Yagami who went on and on and on.

Matt looked back at his game and pressed a few buttons, his goggled-eyes returning back to Mello then. He leaned forward, keeping one eye on the screen and one eye ahead of him (a strange talent he had acquired over the years.)

"Ah, Mel, what are you doing?" he asked, irritated.

"What?" Mello whispered back, sending him a much-too-innocent look.

"You're staring at him-" he paused to send a finishing blow to one of the enemies "-like he's a piece of chocolate."

"Am not, shut up."

"But-" click, click, A, B, "-but you're my boyfriend now… it's-" B, B, "not-"

Mello began to snicker then, sending Matt a smirk over his shoulder, the look that had first made Matt forget what he had wanted to say to Mello the first day he met him. "Matt, you're jealous."

"No I'm _not_," he whispered defensively.

"Oh yeah? Then why's it matter who I look at?" Mello tilted his head towards the pale boy two rows away again.

"It's not right, Mello!" Matt beat on the keys harder. It seemed they were always having this conversation all the time, which wasn't good, since they had only officially been going together for about a month. Matt really wouldn't mind Mello's wandering eye so much if they actually did anything together and Matt knew for a _fact_ that Mello wasn't a prude by any stretch of the imagination but… still, not much in the way of action. And for some reason, it grossed Mello out when Matt jacked off so he tended to beat on the buttons of his DS instead of his meat, to appease Mello.

So Mello ignored the jealous teenager sitting behind him and continued his watching of other students. Matt looked up, noting that he was once again being disregarded and groaned, messing up and pressing B instead of A. There was a loud dying noise and Matt, distressed, said loudly, "God_damn_ it!"

Everyone in the class looked at him mildly, used to Matt's outbursts about once or twice a week.

"Matt." Mr. Yagami was looking at Matt with a tired glare, like he was used to it too.

Matt looked up, dismayed. "Uh, yeah?"

"Come here."

"Okay."

"Bring that thing with you."

Matt sighed and walked up with his DS, ignoring snickers from others he passed. Mr. Yagami held out his hand sternly and Matt whiningly handed it over. "Ah, come on, you can't take the whole thing!" He was thinking of his sex-life as he said this. What would he play with in the meantime? "Dude, just take the game!"

"I'm not a dude. And if I don't take the system, you'll just play with this again tomorrow in class," the brunet explained, setting it down on his desk.

Matt thought. "Well, yeah…" That was all he had.

Mr. Yagami sighed.

"Well, let's switch then," Matt offered. He pointed to the DS and the game inside. "You take this game and give me back one of my other ones in your desk. Deal?"

"… I don't make deals with students! Matt, go sit down and pay attention. The things I'm talking abut now will be on the exam."

Matt groaned and trudged back to his seat. "I always _fail_ the exams," he mumbled.

"Sit," the man ordered, then turning back towards the blackboard.

Matt plopped down heavily and sat with his chin planted in the palm of his hand. He had a hard time paying attention to Yagami, as Mello had begun to send that odd, pale boy again and he had begun to look back, however his expression was more of worry than enticement. Things stayed that way until the bell rung at three and the school was let out and the end-of-the-week rush rolled through the hallways.

"I can't believe it," Matt stated sadly as he leaned up against the locker beside Mello's. "Now what am I going to do? I was on the _second to last _level…"

"Well, don't play in class anymore if you don't want to get your shit taken," Mello said, obviously unaffected by Matt's angst.

Matt raised his eyebrow as Mello fished through his filthy locker. "I wouldn't have to play in class if you'd give me a little attention…"

Mello laughed. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Uh…" Matt didn't want to spill his embarrassing secret that playing DS was like masturbating. Mello might think he was odd. "Nothing," he said, walking with Mello as they left the hallway. "I just like attention."

"I bet."

"And you're always giving that albino kid attention."

"I think his name's Near."

"Okay, _Near_. Why do you like him so much?"

Mello rolled his eyes as they hit the concrete. "I don't, he's kind of weird. I just think it's funny to hit on him because he tends to get all scared."

Matt wondered briefly if pretending to be scared of Mello would get _him_ flirted with. He was almost sort of thinking about maybe trying it but as they crossed the street, Mello spotted that same little white ball scuffling along on the other side of the street. Mello elbowed Matt eagerly. "Hey, hey," he said, grinning, "watch this."

"Mello, what are you doing-"

"Hey!" Mello called and the boy turned around, looking at the two of them. Mello whistled. "Hey there, hot stuff! Can I get some fries with that shake?"

Near looked down at himself self-consciously as if to say, 'I'm shaking?'

Matt rolled his eyes. "Mel, leave the kid alone."

"Yeah, baby," Mello called, laughing, "hike up that skirt of yours!"

Near then blushed and huffed, turning back around and shuffling down the street faster. When he was out of sight, having turned the corner, Mello and Matt continued on their way, Mello laughing like a madman and Matt, not so amused.

"D-Did you see the look on his face…" he said, breathless, leaning on Matt for support.

"He looked at you like you were a rapist."

"Yeah." Mello exhaled heavily. He looked at Matt with a happy smirk. "Sure is good, huh, Mattie?"

"What? Harassing kids on the street or pissing me off?"

Mello sighed. "You're so insecure."

"Gee, I wonder why!"

Mello walked around Matt to the gate of the house they were about to walk right by. He opened it and walked up the driveway by himself to the front door, feeling around on his belt to get his key out.

Matt stayed on the other side of the gate, a hand on one hip. "Can I stay the night?"

Mello looked up. "What's wrong with your house?"

"… It's got woodlice."

"… You liar!"

"I just wanna hang out with you, Mel," Matt pleaded.

"Is that code for screw?"

"Yeah."

Mello laughed and winked at the redhead. "You horndog. Go home, Matt. You know I'm saving my virginity for marriage."

Matt blinked unbelievingly. "_Virginity_?"

The door shut behind a cackling Mello and Matt kicked the gate violently out of frustration and was soon on his way down the street again. A whole month of dating and all he had thus far received was a kiss. True, it _had_ been the most intimate, most amazing kiss ever. And true, _Luigi _never got a kiss, as far as Matt had seen. So he guessed he should count himself lucky.

As he made his way to his house, unlocking his own front door, he determined to somehow get Mello to not be so aloof. He thought of tons of ways he would one day soon win Mello's affections which should've already been his, what with him being the boyfriend and all… but hell, maybe Matt's way of thinking was different than everyone else's.

He shifted through his wall of videogames and decided on Paper Mario for that evening. Luigi was kickass but Mario had more experience in these things.

Perhaps if he paid attention, close attention, he would learn something.

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**To be continued.**

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A/N: _Short, you know how first chapters are. Next ones will be longer… how about some thoughts?_


	2. Lost Amongst Fantasies

_A/N: __Thank you all for the chance and the nice reviews. I'll make you proud!_

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**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**two.**

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The next morning, Matt felt a little queasy. He just woke up with a little sick feeling in the pit of his stomach and at first he wrote it off as a side-affect from gaming until two in the morning and chugging five Red Bulls and devouring two Snickers. But then again, he did that every Friday night. It helped him concentrate on the controller in his hand. So maybe he had been overdoing it lately. Whatever. He got up anyway, trudged around his room to find some clothes and ended up in a pair of scuffed-up jeans and a shirt that was clean yesterday.

After grabbing his wholesome breakfast of two pop tarts, which were sticking out of his mouth on top of each other, he stuck his PSP in his back pocket like a military man packs an extra cartridge before going to war. He hopped off the banister of the stairs and was out into the world, locking the door behind him.

He began down the street, his goggles blocking his peripheral vision of his surroundings. Of course, he was heading over to Mello's house. He figured his good luck on Paper Mario last night, what with reaching the last level with _unheard of _stats, was a good omen for his relationship with Mello. Today, he thought, would be a good day to try his luck at seducing the blond. Surely, once Mello felt Matt's expert-level hands all over him, he could not resist.

Matt was getting hard thinking about it already.

The pop tarts in his mouth were being buzzed down to just the brines as he strolled down the street. He noticed mildly that all the lawns seemed greener for some reason, not the dingy brown he was so used to seeing.

_Maybe they're all watering their lawn more often_, he thought, spitting out the rest of his breakfast on the nice grass. As he looked up again, there was something unfamiliar about the streets he had lived on for the past five years. Since when did they have all these trees? He lived in the city for God's sake; they had manufactured bushes, not these tall… tall trees…

He looked around, confused, the trees seemed to be closing in around him, the house pulling back into the lawns and moving further away. This was odd. He hadn't smoked anything in a while so… what was going on?

He turned around, the trees becoming thicker around him and he felt a little claustrophobic. He hoped he could still find Mello's house through all of the newly acquired foliage. This was…

Was…

"Oof!" Matt had the wind knocked out of him as he fell suddenly, tripping over a rising root of a tree and failing wildly into an eight foot deep hole in the dirt. He hit it hard, his head bonking against the hard dirt floor and his goggles falling askew. He lay motionless.

* * *

"I think we caught something!"

…What was that?

"I hope it's a buffalo."

"Idiot, there are no buffalo around here."

Voices…?

Matt blinked, bleary-eyed. He struggled to move his neck but he had a large cramp there and jerked in pain which resulted in more pain. He cursed silently and looked up, rubbing his wrist over his eyes. As he pushed his goggles back into place, he was able to see clearly and was squinting under the sunlight coming down through the trees above him.

"Well, you never know… Hey. That's not a buffalo."

Suddenly, a strange, dark-haired man was looking down into Matt's hole, staring at him. Matt stared back.

"What is - Oh, Jesus, Matsuda! Look what you did!" Another man came into view, peeping down into the hole as well. This man was a tad bit larger, with a deeper voice and a much deeper frown at finding Matt down there.

"It's not my fault," the younger man defended.

Matt blinked at their bickering. He looked down at himself and shook all his limbs to make sure nothing was broken. He was fine. He wondered how long he'd been down there but for right now…

"Uh… hey!" he called up, gaining their attention. "Could you… give me a hand?"

"… Oh. Right." The older man looked around. His eyes settled on his friend. "Matsuda, go down and get him."

"_Me_?"

"This was your dumb idea. Go get him."

He sighed, grumbling that at least he had caught something, and lowered himself by means of a vine going down into the hole. He was hovering a few feet above Matt and held down his hand. "Okay, all aboard," he said cheerfully.

Matt blinked at him.

"Jump on my back!"

"… Oh, right… Okay…" Matt got up and put his arms around the man's neck, hoisting himself onto his back. They went up and then fell sprawled out onto the floor at the other man's feet.

The both got up and the younger man dusted himself off. "Wow, you're really heavy!"

Matt squinted. _Well, thanks, random guy, for calling me fat…_

"I'm Matsuda," he said, smiling and holding out his hand to Matt. Matt shook it warily. "This is Aizawa!"

Matt looked at Aizawa. "Hi, I'm-"

"You idiot," he scolded Matsuda, ignoring Matt, "don't go telling random people who we are like that! For all we know, this guy could be a spy."

Matsuda blinked. "But we just trapped him; he's obviously not a very good one."

"That's not the point!"

Matt frowned, growing more and more wary as they continued to talk. Just who were these guys? He had never seen them around the city before. Though, now that he looked around, surrounded completely by a dense forest, he wasn't so sure where the city _was_, much less where he was.

"Hey," he said, interrupting them, "I don't want to cause any trouble, I was just on my way to my boyfriend's house, so… I dunno where all this stuff came from but if you could point me to Avery Street, I'd… uh, what's wrong?"

Aizawa was looking at him strangely. "Boyfriend, huh?"

"Well… yeah…"

"Are you a queer?" he asked, followed by a horrified gasp from Matsuda.

Matt thought. "I guess so."

Matsuda hurriedly stepped between them. "And there's nothing wrong with it, either! Aizawa, you shouldn't say things like that! After all, everyone says that Princess Mello is like that."

"That's different-"

They were interrupted once again, this time by Matt's uncontrollable laughter.

Aizawa raised his eyebrow. "What's up with you…?"

"M… Mello? _Princess_ Mello! Holy shit!" He was almost breathless, doubled over with his arms clutching his stomach. "Y-You know he'd kick your ass if he heard that!"

Aizawa and Matsuda looked at each other.

"So…" Matsuda looked at Matt slowly. "So you know the princess?"

"Ha ha… Hell yeah I know him, he's my boyfriend. Like I said, I was on my way to visit him but then, I dunno, guess I got turned around somehow. Could you guess take me out of here?"

Aizawa seemed to ponder this. "Well… you aren't a familiar face. But maybe you could be of some use. Come with us."

"Okay," Matt said, still smirking. Princess Mello. What a joke. He wondered if he said that to the blond's face, would he get assaulted? Probably. He might just try it anyway though.

So Matt walked one step behind Matsuda and Aizawa as they continued through the forest. Matt felt like asking where in the hell all of this had come from but decided not to. If the government wanted to plant random forests in the middle of town, that really wasn't any of Matt's business, he supposed. But it really was an inconvenience. Would he have to go through this big ordeal every time he wanted to go see Mello? And what about going to school? He'd arrive in class with twigs sticking out of his hair and thorns in his backside. Not appealing.

But the forest began to thin out after fifteen minutes of walking and Matt was relieved to see the light of day again, unobstructed by high leaves. There, beyond the edge of the forest, was a dirt road and the three of them began down it, walking with large fields of grass on either side.

"All right, wait just a minute!" Matt looked around in disbelief. "When did all this get here?"

"When did all _what _get here?" Aizawa asked, glancing back.

"All this… nothing! Government sure is making cutbacks if they had to bulldoze buildings… Are we at war or something? I don't watch the news."

Matsuda blinked. "Well, with the princess gone, we probably _will_ go to war."

"… Huh? That again? Mello's not a - Holyshitwhatthefuck?"

"What's wrong?"

"T-That! What is _that_?" Matt was gaping up at the sky further off where there was a castle floating upside down their, its towers and flags blowing in the wind, pointing towards the ground. It was huge with many winding staircases and banners flying on the tips of the towers, seemingly content there in the sky. Below it was a canyon, where it looked like the castle had been uprooted from its normal place on the ground. Only it wasn't normal. None of this was.

Matsuda and Aizawa looked up at it calmly. "Oh, that."

Matt was hyperventilating. "S-Since when did the feds get funding for floating _castles_? Weren't they still on _cloning_? Holy fuck! Oh God!"

Matsuda turned around to look at Matt spazzing out. "It's all right, don't be so nervous! That's just the castle. When Princess Mello was kidnapped, it uprooted and just kind of stayed up there… It's not really bothering anyone so we didn't try to bring it back down or anything."

"Not that we could've," Aizawa added.

"Holy… what is going _on_ around here?" Matt struggled to take his eyes away from the castle.

The other two began walking again and Matt followed, stumbling along. As they continued, falling under the shadow of the castle, Matt asked, "It's… not going to fall or anything, is it?"

"Doubtful," Aizawa said. "Unless the princess came back right at this moment. Then it just might. And we'd be shit out of luck."

"Listen, this has all gotten a bit weird…" Matt looked up as they passed beneath the building. "And just who the hell kidnapped Mello _anyway_? He wouldn't have gone without a fight."

Matsuda glanced back at him sadly. "Near," he said.

Matt thought. "Wait… that sounds familiar…"

"He's-"

"No, wait, I can do this," Matt insisted, pondering some more. "Near…"

"But-"

"Almost got it! Goddamn, be patient."

Matsuda and Aizawa exchanged glances.

In another moment, Matt grinned, raising a hand to the sky. "Yeah, Near! That one albino kid. You mean to tell me that little cotton ball-"

"STOP THAT!" Aizawa tackled Matt to the ground. As they struggled in the dirt, Aizawa, being of substantial weight and size, managed to plant his large hands on Matt's mouth to silence him. "Listen," he hissed at the teen, "you don't know who could be listening so keep those comments to yourself. Just wait until we get into town before you say things like that, all right?"

Matt nodded eagerly, wanting to be released.

"Good."

* * *

The dirt road dissolved into the main - and probably only - road of a small village. As they walked under a wooden arch that said in old paint, Oaken Villa. Matt looked up at it as he and his two companions walked underneath.

"What the hell?" Matt looked at them. "Where are we? This isn't Tokyo!"

"What is Tokyo?" Matsuda asked.

"… Ah, shit." Matt sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his head. As he looked around, he found that this wasn't really a town at all. It was more like a village for hedgehogs; everything was very rounded and cute and… was that happy-go-lucky background music he heard far off?

They walked up to one of the houses and Matt followed them self-consciously, looking around as other people came out of the other little houses, blinking wide-eyed at Matt and whispering amongst each other.

"Guys, people are staring…"

"Anyone would stare at those silly goggles."

"Hey!"

The door opened to the little cottage and out popped the head of an old man, glasses slid down to the tip of his nose. He peered over Matsuda's shoulder to Matt.

He sighed and said tiredly, "What have you two dragged here _now_

"Matsuda's fault."

"No, it's not!"

"You were supposed to bring back food," Aizawa pointed out. "We can't eat him."

"Yeah," Matt piped up. "Can't eat me."

"So if we can't eat him," the old man continued, "what good is he?"

Aizawa shrugged. "He says he knows the princess. He says he's his boyfriend."

"Princess Mello doesn't have a boyfriend."

"Uh, _yeah_, he does," Matt said defensively. "Just because he flirts around a lot, doesn't mean he isn't spoken for."

"Maybe he can help us out," Matsuda offered.

"Help us out how?"

"He could go get Mello. That way we wouldn't have to go through all of this. The war-"

"There'd still be a war even if Princess Mello returned," he said haughtily. "What is this boy supposed to do?"

Aizawa frowned. "Rodger, as mayor of our village, you're in charge here until Mello's back. So, you have to at least try to come up with a plan to get him back, that's treachery if you don't! You could stop this whole thing from happening before it starts if we send him out to go get Mello. Don't you think so?"

_One_ person? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds? Near is-"

"A little kid who's scared of his own shadow," Matt answered, laughing. "If he has Mello, I'll go get him."

Rodger glared and looked behind Matsuda at Matt. "Just who _are_ you, anyway?"

"I'm Matt." He pointed to himself with his thumb.

"Okay, _Matt_, well you're obviously not understanding the situation…"

"You're right, I'm not," he snapped, "but if Mel's in trouble then I'm going to have to go after him! I'm thinking I'm dreaming," he said thoughtfully, "I mean, what other explanation is there for floating castles and – does no one else _hear_ that music?"

"… What music?" they asked.

"Well, that answers my question."

The three of them looked at each other for a moment.

"Would you excuse us, Matt?" Aizawa asked. Without waiting for a response, he pushed the teen away off of the steps of the house and pulled the other two males in for a huddle. "Just listen, Rodger. Let's try him out. If he doesn't work out then we can go ahead with our plan to attack Near."

"But what if he _dies_?" Rodger asked desperately.

"Well… I doubt anyone'll care, really…"

"Point taken."

"So are we going to do it?" Matsuda asked.

"Ah hell. Why not."

They broke the huddle and turned around to confront Matt they did, he was off in the middle of the street being harassed by the other townspeople. The three men groaned and walked over to him, shooing others out of the way.

"Yeah, I know," Matt said, grinning, "they're pretty nice. Got 'em at Hot Topic."

Someone murmured, "I've never seen someone walk around intentionally dressed like that…"

Matt didn't catch the insult and was distracted when Rodger put his strong hand on the boy's shoulder. "Matt, was it? We've discussed it… and decided that if you want to try to save his Highness, it is all right with us."

"Sweet," Matt said, smiling.

"Yes, very."

"So is anyone going to come with me?"

Everyone broke out into hardy laughter.

"… Um… all right…"

Aizawa wiped away a tear of joy from the corner of his eye and patted Matt on the back. "Oh, no, we'll let you handle it. You _are_ the boyfriend after all."

Matt raised an eyebrow unsurely. "Yeah… I guess."

"We'll just be-"

"HEY! IT'S THE PRINCESS!"

Everyone turned around to see a young brunet in blue shorts and a light blue button-up shirt running towards them like a madman. He was waving something white in his hand and when he came to the group of people, he slid to a halt, panting, his hands resting on his knees.

"It's…" he huffed, "Princess Mello… he's sent a letter…" He held up the envelope.

Rodger took it, and Matt looked at the young man, his mouth agape. "Mr… Mr. Yagami? Is that you, dude?"

The young man looked up, annoyed. "Who is Mr. Yagami? My name is Raito, I'm the mailman."

"But-"

"And I'm not a dude."

Matt blinked. _Oh, it's Yagami all right. I really must be dreaming. Or on something pretty strong._

Meanwhile, Rodger had opened the letter which smelled faintly of Godiva chocolate and everyone was listening fervently to what he read aloud.

"You people are taking too fucking long to rescue me. This little freak is getting on my nerves and no one has come yet. Goddamn you all, what kind of subjects are you? Rodger, I'm sending this to you because I know you care about me. So why haven't I been rescued yet? Slackers. Holla. PS, send more chocolate."

Matt scratched his head. That was Mello, no doubt about it.

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**To be continued.**

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A/N: _What do you think? If you could give some feedback..._


	3. It's the Prince

_A/N: __Dude, you have no idea how much fun this chapter was to write. No idea. I just love adventure, I guess. And videogames. Hell yes._

* * *

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**three.**

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The first thing Matt had done was question if this princess who had been kidnapped was really his Mello. After that letter, it sure sounded like Mello, no doubt. But Mello wasn't – at least not to Matt's knowledge – a princess and never had been. Of course, then, there arose the question…

"If Mello's a princess, why do you call him a 'he'?" Matt asked as Rodger led him into his cottage. The crowd of townspeople outside had no dispersed but began their gossip about Matt and Rodger, not being one to tolerate gibberish, chauffeured Matt inside where they could talk in private. Aizawa and Matsuda went off on their own to calm the people and maybe answer any questions on how they had come across Princess Mello's self-proclaimed boyfriend.

Rodger sat down heavily in a large armchair and Matt plopped down across from him in the small living room on a couch.

"Well," Rodger began, sending Matt a shrewd look, "everyone knows the princess is a boy."

"So he's a prince." Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps, but he's much too feminine for anyone to recognize him as such."

Matt almost snickered. Poor, poor Mello.

"Okay, well, whatever," Matt said. "Listen, I have something to ask you… before I go off and rescue this princess, I mean… I gotta make sure he's the one I'm looking for. This Mello, what's he look like?"

"Ah. Here, have a look," Rodger said, turning in his seat to reach up. There was a mantle just behind the chair and on it a photo was placed, framed in gold. Rodger retrieved it and handed it over to Matt who took it in earnest. There he was – Mello with the blond hair and blue eyes like ice, standing in front of the castle when it was erected in its rightful place. He was wearing a white prince's outfit with straps and pendants. He looked a bit uncomfortable in all the ceremonious decorations but he had that smirk he was so famous for.

Matt blinked at it. "When was this taken?" He never remembered Mello wearing anything but leather.

"A few months before the kidnapping."

"Oh… So how long's he been gone?"

Rodger looked thoughtful. "Maybe two weeks… almost three now."

"_What_? And none of you went _after_ him?"

"It's not so simple," the old man answered. "Near's guards came in the middle of the night. No one knew he was gone until the next morning and even then, we figured he had gone out to a neighboring town to party. The princess is always doing those kinds of things – he is quite unruly."

"I believe it," Matt said, rolling his eyes.

"So when Near wrote us, telling us he had Princess Mello, we were all in shock that he would ever do something like that. It wasn't like King Near. Sure, he's a bit of a shut-in and all, always keeps to himself. But we all figured he was rather misunderstood, not a pervert bent on capturing princesses from their bedchambers. It's all very scandalous."

"What have you all been doing in the meantime then?"

"Waiting."

"… For what? For Near to let him go?"

"No, for our armies to come in from the West. We don't plan on letting Mello stay with Near; we're going to fight for him. But this whole thing could be avoided if you go in quietly and take him. Here's what I wanted to talk to you about. I have formulated a plan."

"Do tell."

"Stop saying inane things."

"Sorry."

"Right. So, you will go to the princess. Take him from Near in a way that he will not know – stage the princess's death. That way he can be returned without Near waging war."

Matt raised an eyebrow again. "But everyone will know once Mello's come back."

"We keep it secret for a while. Don't let it get out of the Kingdom. After a while, Near will be distracted with something else. We all know _why_ Near has taken Mello – the princess is very attractive and King Near likes shiny things."

"… He does?"

"He does. If Mello is gone, he will find another thing that catches his fancy."

Matt took all of this in. So, that was the plan, was it? Didn't seem too difficult. King Near, as it was, seemed to be a bit of a push-over and Matt was sure he could just sneak in, grab Mello, place a dummy on the floor and be out of there before lunchtime. It didn't occur to Matt that lunchtime had already passed. He looked up from his thoughts and grinned at Rodger.

"No problem-o! I'll get him back, don't worry," he said enthusiastically. "You can count on me."

"Don't be an idiot!"

Matt blinked.

"Nothing is as easy as it sounds when it comes to Near. He is violent, a trickster. We already fear for the fair princess's virginity."

Matt wondered at this. Was Mello really a virgin? He thought that had been a joke. Mello? A virgin? The very idea was fantasy.

"So you think Near wants to bang him?" Matt asked, curious.

"…" Rodger groaned and got up from his seat, walking over to a desk in the corner. It was covered with books and loose papers and candles. He smoothed some things over and ruffled through everything, finally pulling out a rolled up piece of paper. He shook it out, revealing it to be a good two feet in length and came over to Matt with it.

"Here," he said, dropping it in the teen's lap. "Oriciel, our kingdom, and Navariel, where Near reigns. They're side by side, separated by the Caranteen Desert. Once you cross into Near's territory, nothing will be safe. You'll be harassed at every turn, hunted like a wild beast and if you should be caught, you shall be skinned alive and roasted over a bon fire."

"…" Matt stared.

"But don't worry!" Rodger cheerfully patted him on the back. "There's a long trip before you make it into Navariel."

"How long?" Matt asked, distraught.

"We're in the center of Oriciel. If you go straight," he said, pointing along the map with his index finger, "you have a three-day walk until you reach Perry Town, that's the final town of Oriciel before you enter the desert. That's if you don't stop."

"S-So…" Matt studied the map hard. "From here to Perry Town, I'm safe, right?"

"Oh no!" Rodger shook his head. "That's why, even here so close to the castle, we must take precautions. It's why we were so careful about letting you in to town… There are bandits, animals, hoboes…"

"_Hoboes_?"

"And even some of Navariel's subjects have crossed Caranteen now," Rodger continued, looking off. "With the princess gone, all order has been destroyed. The guards who once held the borders are being killed off in the East. Perry Town and Avalda Village have been ravaged. No where's safe anymore."

Matt's courage had been a bit shaken. Naturally, had he had a controller in hand and a TV screen in front of him and heard all of this, he would have said, _Bring it on!_ But this was… his life… Wasn't it? Wasn't this…

Real?

Rodger took the map from Matt's hands and rolled it back up neatly. "Still want to go?" he inquired.

"Y-Yeah… I mean, of course… Hell, I should be all right. After all… the only other alternative is war, right?"

"Right."

"And there's no reason to risk so many lives when I could just go over there and get Mello… right?"

"Right."

"… Dude, you got any Pepto-Bismol? Think I'm going to hurl."

"…"

* * *

As Matt stepped out of the door, Rodger was behind him at the threshold, watching as Matt went down the steps, the map held tightly in his left hand.

"Be careful," Rodger called.

Matt grinned back unsurely. "Yeah! Sure."

The door shut gently and Matt turned around, looking out at the sun shining and the trees blowing gently back and forth in the changing winds. Most of the people had dispersed, gone back to their own houses or were mulling around the small villa but Matsuda and Aizawa were sitting in the center of the street, leaned up against a small water fountain. They perked up upon seeing Matt coming towards them.

"So? What'd he say?" Matsuda asked, eager and interested. He noted to map in Matt's hand and looked at the teen, wide-eyed. "You're really going, aren't you?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Of course," Aizawa said. "When it comes down to it, what other choice does he have?"

Matt squinted at the man through his goggles. He was really beginning not to like him.

"Are you going to leave now?" Matsuda asked, a little somberly. "You've only just got here…"

Aizawa shook his head. "He's not your playmate, Matsuda."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I better get going. Rodger said it'd be a three day walk to Perry Town. And then, from there to Near, who knows how long…" He was, in the back of his mind, thinking he may die a virgin, and cringed.

"We'll see you to the gate then," Matsuda said.

"I've got gardening to do," Aizawa said gruffly. He took Matt's free hand and shook it once, firmly. "Come back alive. And _with _Mello."

"Right…"

And with that, Aizawa stalked off towards one of the cottages. Matsuda watched him go off and looked back at Matt, grinning. "Well, guess _I'll_ see you to the gate then."

"Okay… wait." Matt looked up in thought. If he was ever going to make it out of this alive, he had to be smart. He had to use what he knew about things like this. Goal: rescue a princess. Procedure: go through a lot of scary shit. Necessities: items. "Okay… okay, I need supplies," Matt said, mostly to himself. He looked at Matsuda. "Do you guys have a store in town?"

"Oh… a store? Sure, if you want to go to the shop real quick. Follow me."

Matsuda turned and led the way, Matt following behind. Then walked down a few meters on the only street in town and then up a small walkway to a cottage, slightly large than the others. On a wooden banister that lined the stairs to the door, there was written_ L's__Sweet Shoppe_.

Matsuda smiled and held open the door for Matt who went in first, followed by Matsuda. Inside, the overwhelming smell of sugar and pasty floated in through Matt's nostrils. He looked up and saw one lone counter in the back of the room and behind that, a man slightly hunched over the counter, his black hair wild and his obsidian eyes focused on the incoming customers.

"Hey, L!" Matsuda called, running over to the counter. "What's up?"

The man looked at Matsuda warily. "I thought I suspended you from this shop for a week, Matsuda."

"Oh, I'm not here for me. Look, it's a new customer!"

L blinked and looked over Matsuda's shoulder at Matt who was walking over from the door calmly. "I'm not used to seeing unfamiliar faces here. Are you passing through?"

"Uh, something like that…"

"He's off to go rescue the princess," Matsuda blurted out.

L looked at Matt then. "Ah, so, you're the one all the buzz has been about."

"Yeah," he sighed, "that's me."

"What can I do for you then?"

"Uh, well," Matt drawled, looking around. "I mean, I thought this was a regular store where I could get supplies but it smells like a bakery or something."

"Oh, it always smells this way," Matsuda said. "It's on account of the fragrance L wears."

"… Fragrance?"

L shot a small glare at the young man. "Matsuda, must you tell my business to everyone?"

Matsuda blinked.

"Well, what kind of stuff do you sell then?" Matt asked, changing the subject.

L turned around, touched a string falling from the ceiling and pulled, releasing a chart. On it were little pictures of items and next to each item was a price amounted in coins. L turned back to the two men. "That is all," he said. "Please take your time."

Matt groaned at seeing the chart. He had forgotten – he had no money. And what money he did have certainly was _not_ gold coins. He looked at L sheepishly. "I… I don't really have any money."

"Ah. That is too bad." L rolled the chart up. "Good afternoon to you then."

Matt and Matsuda squawked, "What?"

"Business," L said simply. "I cannot give donations."

"But it's in contribution to Princess Mello's safe return!" Matsuda protested.

"As an affect of Princess Mello's capture, taxes have gone up in order to pay for the oncoming war," L said matter-of-factly. "I cannot waver."

Matt thought for a moment. He felt around in his pockets: loose change, lint, a chewed piece of bubblegum and… his PSP? Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

He pulled it out dourly and thought of Mello. He looked up at L sheepishly. "Would you consider trading?"

"… For what?" he asked, interested.

Matt held the system up and set it on the counter. "This," he said. "Where I'm from, it's worth a lot. But then, it's a lot of fun too. You can play it…" He was trying to be salesman-like so that L would take interest in his item. He watched as the man tilted his head in question and lightly fingered the console.

"It's different," he said, picking it up gingerly. After a moment of deliberation, he said, "I like it. You may choose one item from my shop." With that, he pulled the chart down.

Matt looked at it. "Any one?"

"Any one."

"Okay…" He looked high up on the chart. If he would have to trade away one of his prized possessions, he would get something well worth it. He looked at the high price of one of the top items, a shard of purple rock. "What's that one do?"

"Oh," L said, bending under the counter. He resurfaced with the item in question and set it next to the PSP on the counter. "I'm not sure," he said thoughtfully.

Matt gasped, horrified. "Not sure? There's no description?"

"I found it a long time ago at the border of Caranteen. It's very rare, I know that much."

"Well…" Matt mulled it over. "Is it magical?"

"I would not know."

Matt sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll take it. Better to have something ultra rare and expensive than to have something lame…" He picked it up and put it in the back pocket where his PSP had once rested. He took a step back from the counter then, holding his hands up and grinning. "That's all I can afford, man."

L nodded.

Matsuda led Matt back to the door and turned around to wave to L. "Thanks! I'll be back later to keep you company!"

L seemed a bit distressed. "Thank you for your patronage," he deadpanned.

The door shut behind them and Matsuda was running with Matt's hand in his, down the road, catching the eye of the townspeople they passed.

"W-What's up, huh?" Matt asked, stumbling. "Why the rush?"

"This has got me so pumped up! I can't believe we're finally getting down to saving the princess!" Matsuda skidded to a halt when they came to a wooden gate at the edge of the road. Matsuda let go of Matt's hand in favor for the latch on the gate. He flicked it open and stepped back so Matt could exit. He walked out, and turned around when Matsuda was closing the gate. He stopped then, as it was halfway closed and then looked up at Matt. "Good luck," he said.

"Yeah, thanks."

"I'll do everything on my end here!" He sounded so enthused but Matt wasn't sure at all what Matsuda could do. Then, something hit him and when the gate was shut, Matt leaned on it.

He said, "Do me a favor, go to Rodger and tell him to hold their troops_ back_. I can't have a fucking _war _going on around me when I'm trying to sneak over there. Yeah?"

Matsuda nodded fervently, happy to be of any help. "All right, you got it. I'll do it now."

"Okay. Thanks, Matsuda. Later."

"Yeah, later."

Matt smiled and turned, pulling out his map to stare down at. Matsuda watched as Matt followed the path, going over the hill and then falling out of sight.

* * *

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: _Thanks for reading. Please tell what you're thinking._


	4. Suicide for Oriciel

_A/N: __Hello, hello. Thank you for all the nice reviews, I hope you continue to like the story. So, without further ado… enjoy! XD_

* * *

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**four.**

* * *

"Here you are, princess. Just like you asked."

Mello looked up from the floor he had been busily staring at to see the guard who had just come into his room. He was holding out a bar of chocolate, neatly wrapped, in one hand and offered it to Mello. When he didn't take it, only glared at him, the guard who was very unsure what to do, said, "Well, King Near said you were out of chocolate so he arranged for some to be sent to you. You haven't been eating… so…" He offered it again.

Mello only continued to glare at him, not sparing a word.

"Listen," the man continued, looking down, "you _have_ to eat! Even if it's just chocolate."

"I don't have to do anything," Mello suddenly retorted, "And don't go thinking I'm going to eat this shit Near's giving me just because it says chocolate. Hershey's for God's sake. I want Godiva." And with that, he turned around in his chair, facing the wall.

This was ridiculous, the guard thought, standing there, aggravated, with a bar of chocolate in his hand. He had heard the princess was difficult on all things, mostly on matters of chocolate but this was just childish. If Mello didn't eat something, he would surely collapse. Since he had arrived in Navariel three weeks ago, he'd eaten only a little. Near had been concerned as to the princess's health initially but then he considered that perhaps Mello was a naturally light eater. He left his well-being to his servants mostly, which was a huge inconvenience for them all, though they would never say so.

Mello was mean and Mello was picky and most of all, Mello was a bit of a fighter. It took about six well-armed guards to simply force him into his room where he now stayed in one of the higher towers of the castle. And the first few times they had to enter to bring him food, Mello would scratch and bite and punch and they had to eventually put light sedatives in his food so he would not be such a big problem. But lately, he didn't seem to want to eat. All he did was pout and stare at the wall and occasionally write letters which was one thing Near had allowed him.

The guard, still standing by Mello's side, looked up at a camera on the high ceiling. "Sir," he almost whined, "he won't eat."

He waited for a reply, unsure if Near was watching at that exact second. Then, there came a voice lined with static, "Mello, what is the problem?"

"It's not Godiva! I told you already, if you're going to kidnap me, whatever, but give me my_ Goddamn _chocolate!" he shouted. "It's not like you don't have the money!"

"All right," he said after a long pause. "But in the meantime you must eat something."

Mello snorted.

"Leave it in there for him," Near instructed.

The guard nodded, relieved to be able to leave and set the chocolate bar down on the desk by the chair Mello was seated in. He backed up slowly, wary of an attack, and finally reached the door. He bowed a little but Mello didn't see it, or took no notice of it if he did, and then the guard left.

When Mello heard the door shut, he redirected his gaze towards the camera again. "So," he said, sighing, "when do you plan on letting me go? Have you even sent a ransom to Oriciel yet? They won't know what you want unless-"

"I will not be sending a ransom. I don't want anything in return."

"… Then what are you going to do, huh? Wait until I'm rescued. 'Cause I _will_ be, you know. No way Rodger will let this carry on for long."

"I wish to keep you."

Mello took this in and frowned. "That's creepy."

"Perhaps."

"Well, how in hell is this any fun for you?" he asked, confused. "Sure, you get to watch me naked and stuff but…"

There was no reply.

"I do have stuff to do," Mello said, irritated. "This wasn't planned, you know! You guys came and, bam, surprise, I'm gone! What's it like out there? How's Oriciel doing?"

"Fine."

"… You're fucking with me, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Your goons better not be over there!" He finally stood, knocking the chair down in the process. "I mean it, Near!"

"Please, princess-"

"Stop calling me that!" he protested. "I'm a fucking boy! _You_ know that. And if I hear one of your stupid guards calling me princess again, I'll-"

"Right. Prince."

"…" Mello settled a little. "Also," he said, a bit calmer, "we have to talk about this wardrobe you sent up for me. It's not working." Mello looked down at himself in a light blue dress that hung down mid-thigh. His feet were bare, as he refused to wear high-heels and he kept the pony-tails holders on his wrist when he didn't want his hair up. The spaghetti straps on his shoulders kept falling.

"Would you like different colors?"

"No, I would _not_ like different colors, you ass. I'd like _pants_!"

"I see."

Then, there was a minute click that came from the camera and Mello knew that Near wasn't listening any longer. Whenever Mello started to rant about his dislikes, Near always, sooner or later, tuned out. That didn't mean he wasn't still watching though. So with a forceful flick of his middle finger to the camera, Mello sat back down heavily in the chair which he had righted.

_Come on, Rodger_, he thought to himself, _what's taking so fucking long…?_

* * *

Matsuda had been on his way back to Rodger's house to relay Matt's farewell message but, of course, he was distracted and ended up chasing a butterfly around the gardens for a few hours. Then, after the butterfly had grown tired of him and flew away, Matsuda sat up in the bed of flowers and was welcomed with the sight of an angry townsperson who shooed him away with his rake and shouted at him to stop rolling around like an idiot in flowerbeds.

When he was far enough away, he hadn't had the slightest idea what he was supposed to have been doing. Before he pondered greatly on that, he saw L's shop again and went in for another visit, thinking maybe he was supposed to do something involving the somber, obsidian-eyed man.

"Matsuda, I'm very busy," the man droned as he walked about the back closet of the store, putting things up on the shelves.

Matsuda stood by the open door, leaning up against the jamb. "L, when are you going to let me work here with you?"

"Never."

Matsuda laughed.

"I was not joking," L said, bending down again.

The younger man's laughter slowed and he continued to watch L with lively interest. "You know," he said, to which L groaned loudly, "I think I had something to do before I came here."

"Good – do it."

"But I just can't remember," he said thoughtfully. "Something about… about the princess… and Matt. Matt said… oh! Oh my God, I remember now! I-I gotta go, L, sorry! Bye!" He ran quickly out of the storage room and L could hear the bell jingling above the main room as Matsuda left the shop. He sighed, thankful for peace.

* * *

"Rodger! Rodger!"

Rodger nearly fell out of his chair as Matsuda entered his house, slamming the door shut and shouting his name. He came across the floor in a big hurry and looked nearly menacing as he planted his hands on the desk, panting, "Rodger… I have… something to tell you…"

"W-Well then tell me," he sighed, righting himself in his seat once more, "don't come in here like some madman!"

"It's about Matt. He says for you to hold back the troops – he can't have a war going on while he's trying to rescue Mello."

Rodger raised an eyebrow at him. "Hold back the troops? The princess is in trouble, Matsuda, we can't just-"

"That's what Matt is for though, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's going to rescue the princess. So, really, there's no need for all of that, right? If we were to go to war with Navariel while Matt was crossing the border, he could be killed in the mix of it."

Rodger looked at the younger man for a moment before shaking his head sadly and looking back down to his desk. "Matsuda," he said seriously, "you must know very well that there is no way one teenage boy can make it through Navariel. You know this. He will surely be eaten, ripped apart or burned alive. It is a suicide mission."

Matsuda gasped. "What? How can you say that, Rodger? Matt is-"

"Delusional if he thinks he can make it. He is on a march to his _death_, Matsuda. And I must do what needs to be done. I am not sure what King Near's plan truly is but I intend to find out. Once I do, I can plan properly how to carry on."

Matsuda was speechless. He stood there for a moment, looking down, hands twitching on the desk. His mouth was open but no words came and he finally turned and left, closing the door quietly behind himself. He sat on the top step by the door, his chin in his hands and sighed.

_Poor Matt._

* * *

Matt mourned the loss of his PSP. He'd had it for about a year and a half and had looked forward to celebrating its second birthday but, alas, there would be none. Still, it was for Mello. Matt shook his head as he thought about it. It seemed he was always giving up things for Mello but that was okay. As long as he got laid at the end, it would all be worth it.

As Matt walked, the sky overhead had turned from the bright sunshine that had lit up the sky when he left Oaken Villa to a twilight glow that followed the setting of the sun. There was only a bit of sunlight left over in east and that was soon fading.

Matt watched as the last bit of light left the sky, and there he was, walking in a large field, having lost a plain dirt path quiet a while ago. He was coming up to a forest and headed towards it bravely, hesitating only when he looked down at his map again.

"Okay," he said aloud. He squinted in the darkness to see. "Well… if I go straight through this forest, it'll take me to Tarian Boroughs… but, if this is right then I can go around the forest and it'd be close to the same distance…" He looked up again, at all the darkness flooding through the trees and the rustling of the leaves, something moving, maybe something watching him.

"All right, _stop_," he ordered himself and looked back down. "Yeah. Definitely going around." He rolled the map up and stuck it in his other back pocket that wasn't occupied with his item from L's shop. He began walking diagonally and it took him a bit but he was finally around the front of all of those trees in his way and he walked about ten feet from the trees at all times, carrying on as if he were in a bright sunny meadow like a few hours ago. He looked at the trees from time to time, heard something rustle, maybe the shuffle of some feet and picked up the pace. After a bit of speed-walking he would tell himself to calm down and then would walk normally again for a while until the process repeated itself.

The night sky which would have normally been strewn with stars was veiled, much to Matt's chagrin. He thought he maybe wouldn't be so freaked out if he had just a little natural light. As it was, he could only see far enough not to trip over and rocks or twigs and he had to constantly look down to remember the shuffling of leaves under footsteps was his own. He went on that way for maybe two hours and a bit of sleepiness was starting to set in when he heard something else again.

_Ugh… Jesus. All right, what have I told you, self? It's your own steps! And if it isn't you, it's probably just a little animal. That IS a forest, after all. Little animals need homes too. Just chill out. _He sighed and looked towards the thicket, sleepily rubbing under his goggles. _I don't think here would be a good place to camp out for the night, little animals or no…_

He determined to keep going until he found a suitable clearing, even if it took all night. Right as he started walking again, he heard another noise and out of paranoia, he looked to his left and saw a bush rustling madly. His once sleepy eyes widened immensely and he stared, taking a step backwards and away from the brush as well.

Then, a sound, and Matt instinctively reached for his rolled up map, perhaps to use as a weapon even if it was only paper.

"W-Whoever is there, c-come on out," he stuttered madly. He took out his map and pointed it like a sword towards the moving bush. "Right now!"

Suddenly, something jumped out, obeying Matt's orders and the redhead almost died of fright at the little cat that came into view. Upon realizing what it was, Matt's heart slowed and he gradually lost his look of sheer terror. The cat moved it's tail lightly around its body and stared curiously at Matt, wondering perhaps if it was okay to approach him what with that rolled up paper in his hand.

Matt looked down at it and gave the cat a sheepish grin, tucking the map away. "Ah, hey," he said, kneeling down, "I'm sorry about that. I got scared. I didn't know it was something so cute." He held out his hand and smiled. "Come on, don't be scared."

The cat hesitated.

"Here, kitty," Matt coaxed.

Finally, the cat took a step forward, cautious, and then another and another until it was at Matt's feet, waving it's bushy tail curiously.

Matt reached out, sort of scared from the thought of rabies but shook it from his head and began to pet the animal which the cat seemed to enjoy. He'd spent nearly all day without any sort of companion, no one to talk to but himself and no one to think of but Mello so this was a nice escape, just him and this strange little cat together in the woods.

"You wanna come with?" Matt asked, scratching the cat behind the ears. The cat closed his brown eyes, enjoying it. "Or do you have a family or something?" he continued. "Nah, you probably have your own stuff to do, huh? Wish I could bring you to Mel, though. He likes cats. Well, sort of."

The cat began to purr then and Matt laughed, continuing to rub him. "You're really enjoying this…"

It opened its large red eyes as if to answer yes.

"Huh… you know, I could've sworn… that your eyes were brown a second ago… that's kinda…" Matt blinked when the cat's body began to move underneath its fur, bubbling and swelling inside itself as the thing began to stretch out, legs and body growing larger, causing Matt to fall back on his behind, staring wide-eyed at the thing that soon was looming over him, towering some sixteen feet from Matt's form sprawled out on the leave-covered ground. The monster lowered its large head down to Matt and looked onto him with those red eyes, reflecting the teen in them.

"F-F-Fuck…" Matt mumbled, entranced as he stared into his reflection. He forced his stiff body to just move, anything, now, but it would barely obey his commands and he finally got the word across and began to crab-walk backwards. The thing above him made a growling noise and opened its large jaws then and Matt's body suddenly busted with energy and the desire to move and before he knew it, he was on his feet and flying down the side of the woods faster than he knew how.

The giant cat took off after him, tearing down the clearing with its paws stamping hard into the ground. Matt was screaming inanely, things that he knew would probably work for help in a big city but out here, with no one around and that monster chasing him, just who was going to help him? What could he do? He pumped his arms and legs up and down as fast as he could, hearing all the while that thing behind him, maybe only a few meters and gaining. He was running in a straight line, for God's sake. He tried to think of some way out and the only thing he came up with was to try and lose it in a unfamiliar environment so he cut into the forest through two intertwined trees and continued to run.

The thing jumped in through the leaves of the trees, bounding from bough to bough, still behind Matt but racing faster as it jumped. Matt shouted in disbelief, hearing it panting hard up in the trees, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE SHITTING ME! HOLY FUCK! HELP ME!"

There were branches breaking under the thing's weight and Mat began to feel them hitting at the heels of his shoes. It was nearly directly above him and Matt tried to run faster but it was no use and he was about to try and pull out his purple rock to see if it did anything but…

"Oof!" Matt ran straight into something while his head was turned to see his back pocket and he fell over, hearing some other cry as well. He fell tumbling to the forest floor and felt something soft and fleshy beneath him. He looked up and saw a familiar, perturbed face staring up at him.

"_Yagami_," Matt exclaimed, breathless. "What're you-"

The young postal carrier shrieked, interrupting Matt and the redhead was then reminded of what was after him. He and Raito scrambled up, hearing that growl directly above them. The monster came slamming down onto the ground on top of them and they managed to escape it's paws, running on either sides of its legs and rolling down a small hill.

"What the fuck _is_ that?" Matt shouted, picking himself up again and running for his life, Raito bringing up the rear.

"S-Shut up! Run!" he shouted back, pumping his legs faster and almost passing Matt. Matt struggled to keep up, not wanting to be left behind. Raito began to swerve to the left. "We have to get out of here! Get into the clearing!"

"It'll catch us!" Matt panted, looking around, dry-sobbing when he saw the shadow directly over him again.

"Just trust me!"

"But-"

"There are _more_ of them in here!"

And that was all it took to get Matt to follow him and in a matter of minutes, they rushed out into the clearing, covered in leaves and dirt and sweat. They came out darting into the grass and Matt was cramping hard in the side of his stomach, not used to all this physical activity, and as he was about to look behind them to see if they had lost the monster, Raito, who was beside him, shouted, "No! Don't look! Don't look!"

So Matt didn't and they kept running, leaving the question of "where to?" in the wind.

* * *

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: _Thanks so much for reading. Please tell me your thoughts._


	5. Teammates

_A/N: __Welcome to another chapter. Enjoy._

* * *

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**five.**

* * *

They ran for what seemed like Ages, stuck in a cycle that consisted only of pumping arms and legs and heavy breathing and sometimes a far-off howl that sounded disturbingly un-wolf like and sometimes got Matt to running faster. Though, no matter how hard he ran, he never was able to pass Raito and had trouble juts keeping up with him and Raito, as they ran, never complained of cramps, which Matt did often. In reality, they only continued this pattern for about an hour after they left the forest.

The sound of whatever had been chasing them stopped a good thirty minutes ago but no matter what, Raito kept telling Matt, do not look back, not until he said so. So after the hour was up, Raito skidded to a halt and Matt stopped after him, trying to halt on a dime like the brunet had but ended up falling over his feet. He hit the ground hard, panting and groaning.

Raito leaned over Matt curiously, his hand planted just above his knees. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"D-Dude… that was… fucking… fucking nuts…" Matt panted, placing an arm over his eyes. He stopped talking and concentrated on regaining his breath. He supposed this was what he got for skipping PE everyday and going into the boy's bathroom to play NintenDogs. Once he had enough control over his breathing, he took his arm away and looked up at Raito again. "Yagami, what was that?"

"My name is Raito, I've told you," he hummed, standing up right as Matt climbed to his feet. "That was a Kog back there, hence the name of _Kog Forest_." He pointed far off to the edge of the woods.

Matt blinked and fumbled out his map.

"What were you thinking?" Raito scolded lightly. "Going in there by yourself. It wouldn't be so bad if you weren't so ignorant but-"

"Hey hey!" Matt looked up. "Who's ignorant? I'm learning as I'm going along! Nobody told me what a Kog was! Nobody said watch out for cute kittens because they'll change into big hairy monsters and try to eat you!"

"… Rodger didn't tell you about that?"

"No!"

Raito blinked, eyes rolling upward in thought. After a second, he looked back at Matt. "They only change if you pay them attention. When they're little, they will follow you and perhaps tug at your pant legs but they are harmless until you _notice them_."

Matt stared, wide-eyed. "Ah, fuck that!" he shouted. "Why didn't Rodger _tell _me?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Matt sighed, running a hair through his hair quickly. "Okay, okay," he hummed, looking around. They had run a little ways off coarse. If he went around the forest this way, it'd take so long. The quickest way… "Dude… I'm so tired," he sighed, giving up. "I'm going to go to sleep _right here_."

"… Here?"

"Yeah… UNLESS YOU KNOW OF SOMETHING THAT WILL COME OUT AND EAT ME."

Raito cringes at the scream. "I don't… however there's no guarantee…"

"Fantastic."

"You should be all right…" Raito sighed, looking down at the pack he was carrying, feeling the weight of all the letters that were inside. "Listen," he said, "I just got back from Ice City, I ought to get back to Oaken soon. Wish you luck."

"Ice City?" Matt asked, heavily sitting back on the ground, legs crossed. "Where's that?"

"Around the other side of Caranteen."

"… You mean in Navariel?"

"Yes."

"… How'd you go there without being torn apart?" Matt cried.

Raito smiled smugly. "I'm the _mailman_ for Oriciel. I have to deliver the mail for the whole Kingdom to Navariel so of course, no one's going to bother me. No one official, I mean. If I get caught by a band of rogues, I'm…"

"Shit out of luck?"

"For lack of better words, yes."

"Lucky you." Matt closed his eyes in thought. "Hey, think I could borrow your uniform?"

"No."

"Well, it was worth a shot."

"Goodbye, Matt. Good luck," he said, walking away.

Matt sighed and watched him walk a few steps back the way they had come. Then, far off in the dense woods, there was a loud howl that sent birds flying from the trees in a fit of cawing. Raito rigidly turned around and walked briskly back to Matt, sitting beside him. "The letters can wait," he said stiffly.

Matt grinned and patted the mailman on the back. "Glad to have you aboard!"

"Hm."

* * *

Mello was a genius.

At least, that's what he told himself.

But, ah, his plan was truly magnificent. As he lay in his bed in the cell Near called his _Princess's Suite_, he grinned to himself. He had been thinking all day long of how soon Rodger would succeed in rescuing him from the voyeuristic freak, though he hated to be in a position where it made him look weak. Really, Mello would rather rescue himself than have someone come after him but then again, he wasn't in a position to do that, having had all of his knives taken from him and being watched twenty-four hours a day.

When the mail arrived earlier that afternoon, Mello received about two hundred letters from adoring fans in the West, wishing him well. He threw most of them in his surely-growing pile in the corner of the room and fished around for the ones from Oaken village.

There was one from a boy named Matsuda.

_Dear Princess,_

_Hi! It's me again, Matsuda. You have never answer any of my letters, even when you weren't kidnapped but that's okay. I'm sure it must be very tough being kidnapped. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that we've sent your boyfriend, Matt, to rescue you! He's on his way right now but he may be in danger as he does not know much about our Kingdoms. Let's cheer him on, all right? _

_Write back! - Matsuda._

Mello had to take this in for a bit. His… boyfriend… His boyfriend, Matt? Well, he _had_ no boyfriend! This must have been a mistake. He searched his memory hard but there was no Matt. Though, he supposed, it didn't matter. A boy to rescue him. It all seemed fiendishly cliché but it was better than nothing. He tossed the letter to the side and went to the next one, the one from Rodger.

_Princess Mello,_

_We miss you terribly. Oriciel has not been the same without your guidance and leadership. Currently, we are readied our armies in the West. We will get you back at all costs, your Highness, and I am sorry for this inconvenience._

_Your humble servant, Rodger._

Mello had groaned loudly at ready that and stomped around the room for a bit, in a fit of rage. Under no circumstances did he want Oriciel to go to war with Near - he knew for a fact that countless numbers of their people would be slaughtered. Rodger was honestly an idiot sometimes, did he never listen? After writing an angry letter back and slipping under the door for a guard to later pick up, Mello had gone into a brainstorm.

He knew he could come up with something that would save him and he _did _and _that_ was why Mello was a genius.

He lay in bed and looked up at the camera that followed his every move around the room. He grinned to himself and put everything in order. Near had captured him, yes? Yes. And all kidnappers want something, whether it be money or fame or just to have someone to play with. But Near always watched Mello and that must mean he was after something sexual.

So the plan was simple. Give the idiot what they want and they will be satisfied. Then Mello can finally leave.

Ah, it was truly a praise-worthy plan indeed.

All Mello had to do was give his virginity to Near. And obviously the white-haired freak wanted it - who _wouldn't_? - but there was only one problem. Near never allowed Mello out of his room, Near was a complete shut-in. And how could Mello seduce the little guy if he wasn't near him?

But it was all right because if Mello could come up with such a wondrous plan as this, surely he could think up some way to get close to Near. All it took was a little thought and with this in mind, he drifted off to sleep, rolling around in the bed in his princess-pink nighties.

* * *

The next morning, Matt woke up, expecting to be in his own bed with his alarm clock going off like nuts. What he instead work up to was the bright blue sky and the feeling of a deep hunger within his stomach. He lifted his head, his neck stiff from sleeping on the ground, and looked around, shaking the twigs out of his hair. Obviously, he could see so that meant he hadn't been eaten in the middle of the night. Well, that was good.

He looked to his left and saw Raito sleeping soundly, sprawled out in the grass, his little mail-carrier's hat pushed down slightly over his eyes. Matt rolled over and tapped him on the chest.

"Hey, up," he said, tapping forcefully.

Raito snorted and sat up straight, looking around frantically. "What? What?" He looked down at Matt who was sitting up as well and frowned. "Oh."

"I'm guessing it's a bad idea to lose too much time sitting around. I'd better get going." Matt stood slowly, perhaps a little weak from so much running and no food in a while. He looked around, shading his eyes from the mid-morning sun.

Raito stood too, looking the opposite way. "Well… I mean, I have other cities to deliver to. Oaken Villa always gets their mail first anyway… Where are you heading to?"

Matt, who had been in the middle of looking at his map anyway, said, "Uh, Tarian Boroughs is the next town over. Going straight through."

Raito nodded thoughtfully.

Matt blinked. "You're going to come with me?"

"… I suppose, for a whi-"

"YES!" Matt tackled Raito back to the ground in a tight embrace, the map flying out of his hands.

"W-What are you doing!"

"I've got a party-member! My first one, this is _so_ boss. Do you have any abilities? Can you do magic? What're your stats?" he demanded.

Raito kicked Matt off of him. "I'm a freaking _mailman_!" He stood up, dusting himself off. "And I will not accompany you should you choose to continue dry-humping me."

Matt looked up at him. "Sorry, dude. I get a little excited sometimes."

"Oh _really_?"

"Yeah," he said, standing and picking up his map. He rolled it and set it back in its position.

"Are you ready?" Raito asked, a little wary now.

Matt nodded, beginning to walk, grinning back at Raito. "Sure am, let's hop to it."

Raito sighed and followed him. They walked in a sort of diagonal line for a long time, simply for Matt's fear of the woods and all of the Kogs. But as they walked, Raito groaned and told him that this way would take so much more time and that if Matt was going to be successful in rescuing the princess, he would have to be efficient in getting their quickly and detours because of some silly fear would not do at all.

"It's not a silly fear, it's a real fear of a real thing that tried to eat me last night," Matt insisted, waving his arms about.

"That Kog has changed back by now and the others in the forest are small as well," Raito told him. "If we happen to see one while we're in the forest, we ignore it. If we pay it not the slightest bit of attention, it will stay small and eventually lose interest in us and leave. I've been in these woods countless times and _everyone _knows this."

Matt seemed to sulk for a bit. He sighed and then started walking to the left. "All right, okay, let's go. But if something happens-"

"We'll leave the forest," Raito interrupted, waving Matt's comment away.

They entered into the woods in a matter of minutes, the bright sky going into bits and pieces onto the forest floor through the leaves. They moved a few branches out of the way as they went along and heard the sounds of birds in the trees above them.

Matt kept looking around, paranoid at every little sound.

Raito looked at him with an annoyed expression. "It's something like that that is going to get us chased again, you know. If you even look at them too long, they can change. Keep your eyes in front of you."

"O-Oh, okay…" Matt looked ahead, trying to focus. He let one eye roll over to Raito. "I'm glad you're here to tell me these things."

"I would prefer it if Rodger had given you this info."

"Yeah, you and me both…" Matt kept looking ahead and in front of them, there was a patch of mushrooms growing by the roots of a tree. Matt squealed delightedly and ran over to them, kneeling down, much to Raito's horrified shock.

"Dude, I've been starving!" Matt exclaimed.

Raito ran over to him and slapped his hands away from them. "What's the matter with you?" he shouted. "Eating strange mushrooms, they could be poisonous!"

"Or they could be _1Ups_!"

"…" _Maybe he's already ON 'shrooms…_

Matt began to pluck them from their spots on the ground happily and load them into his arms. He said, "Hold out your arms, Yagami, I can't carry them all myself."

"I'll do no such thing. We really should be-"

"Hey, Mac, you mind putting me down?"

Both Matt and Raito looked at each other and then down at one of the mushrooms in Matt's arms. It was looking up at the redhead angrily. Matt shrieked after the initial shock of a talking mushroom and threw them all down in surprise.

"… See? See, this is why you don't pick up random things!" Raito exclaimed, climbing to his feet. "Let's go."

"Uh, right…" Matt got up as well and turned, screaming shrilly as soon as he did so. "Y-Y-Yagami…"

Raito looked over Matt's shoulder, saw the three Kogs sitting idly by the stump of a tree and then began briskly walking, taking Matt's hand in his and saying, "Look ahead, Matt. Just look ahead. It's no problem. Don't look at them."

So Matt tried very hard to keep his eyes on the trees before them but there were insistent flashes of deep red eyes in his vision and he remembered how that thing had howled last night. It was only one back then but it had been plenty enough trouble and now three…. How could they outrun _three_?

"Come on, you don't have to be so stiff," Raito said calmly. "Just walk. They aren't going to bother you."

Matt heard little rustles and footsteps behind them. "They're following us…"

"So? They're hungry. Just don't look at them, they want to be paid attention to so they can become big enough to eat you."

Matt gulped.

The little Kogs followed the two as they went about their business and Raito did his best to keep Matt occupied in conversation so he would not notice that over time, more and more Kogs came down from their little homes in the trees and began to follow them. By mid-afternoon, they had about twenty of them following in a little line.

"I think I'll pass out… I'm so hungry," Matt groaned, his stomach groaning along with him.

"Well, we could eat a Kog but then the others would jump on us pretty fast," Raito joked but Matt didn't find it so funny. "Don't worry," Raito continued, "we'll be out of here soon and can get something to eat in the next town."

"All right…"

* * *

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: _Any thoughts? You gotta tell me what you like or else I won't know! XD _


	6. Pride of the Virgin

_A/N: __Thanks for all the reviews, guys. For some people who asked, the basic "rescue princess from evil dude" was of course taken from my previous gaming experiences and some themes will be similar but I'm really just making this up as I go. XD _

* * *

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**six.**

* * *

The road out of Kog forest was difficult and horrifying mainly because of Matt's tendencies to freak out whenever a Kog nuzzled at his pant leg. Raito would have to take his hand again and lead him firmly away at a slightly quicker pace. As the dense forest began to clear out, Matt felt relief washing through him when he didn't hear so many little feet at his heels any longer. The Kogs were not ones to leave their forest, at least not for food that was so indifferent.

They left the last little bugger about twenty feet from the edge of the forest and the little thing just sat down and watched as Matt and Raito disappeared off into the horizon.

"Dude, how do you kill one of those things if they travel in such large groups?" Matt asked as they walked down a hill. He hopped off of a rock and looked as Raito followed him.

Raito shrugged, walking down. "We usually don't. They don't pose much of a problem… oh sure, maybe about three people per year go missing. But those are stupid people anyway."

"What a caring place," Matt mumbled.

As they continued to walk, it wasn't half a mile more before little rooftops of houses were seen in the distance. Matt and his stomach perked up immediately. "Yeah! We're almost there!"

"Matt, wait-"

But Matt just ran right ahead and as he scampered along the side of the dirt road, he ran smack into a tree that had popped up out of the middle of nowhere.

Matt squealed and then fell onto his behind.

Raito groaned and came over to him, kneeling down and setting a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Are you all right, Matt? I told you to wait, but _no_…"

"What in hell happened?" he asked, bewildered.

"A tree came up. This always happens around Tarian. Come on, we walk slowly here."

Matt looked at the tree with caution as he stood and when he tried to go around it, the tree was sucked back into the earth. Matt blinked and looked around wildly, waiting to see where it would pop up next. He stopped upon hearing the ring of Raito's laughter as the older man passed him, walking up the path.

"They're not going to hurt you unless you run into one! Let's go."

Matt sighed, resigned, and followed Raito as closely as he could. Occasionally a tree or two would pop up around them and send Matt into hysterics, clambering to get out of the "danger zone" and through the arch of the town they were about to enter.

He ran through, panting, and leant on the wooden fence just inside the boundaries, his hands planted above his knees.

"Halt!"

Matt blinked, looking up, finding two men standing in front of him, holding out long sticks with sharp points at him. Matt stood up in a hurry, his arms in the air. "I-I'm unarmed!"

"Intruder," they said, advancing on him.

Matt gaped and was going to attempt some karate moves (which he didn't really know) but he then felt a presence beside him and looked to see Raito with a bored expression on his face.

"He's with me," Raito said.

The two men stopped accosting Matt at once and looked at the brunet. "Is he really? Who is he?" asked the taller one.

"His name's Matt. Listen; do you know where Dakota is? We need to have a talk with him."

The shorter one nodded, jerking his head backwards. "He's in his house… who is this kid, Raito?"

"He looks… odd," said the other whilst poking Matt in the shoulder.

Matt brushed his finger away. "FYI, I'm Princess Mello's boyfriend. So stop touching me."

"… The princess has a boyfriend?"

Raito shrugged. "Apparently."

They looked at Matt again. "Are you going to rescue him from the King and restore peace to Oriciel?"

"Sure am!"

The two of them looked at Raito and then, to Matt's horror, all three of them busted out laughing. After a few moments of hardy laughter at Matt's expense, Raito wiped the tears from his eyes and dragged Matt past the gate and into the village, saying over his shoulder, "That never gets old! See ya!"

They waved to Raito.

Matt looked sternly at his companion. "What's that about?"

"Nothing, Matt. You have to admit, it's kind of funny… you rescuing Mello and all. From Near, nonetheless. It's just kind of funny."

"Why?"

"You're pretty scrawny, you know."

"… I'm scrawny? Near's like anorexic! Besides that-"

Another tree popped up and Matt walked smack into it.

"GODDAMMIT!"

Raito sighed. "Watch out."

"Well how am I supposed to – AGH!"

This carried on for a few minutes before Raito was actually forced to guide Matt lest he break every bone in his face. Matt, once he was walking safely, he noticed that this place was a bit different than Oaken Villa. For one, there wasn't as much foliage, only those horrible trees. The houses were spread out and sometimes Matt could see eyes peeping out of the windows at him and Raito. When Matt was wondering why it was so dark suddenly when it was only afternoon, he looked up and saw a seventy-foot tree towering above the rest of the town.

Matt looked up, his neck stretching. He looked at Raito. "Bet they get some big-ass acorns from there, huh?"

Raito frowned and walked forward, Matt on his heels.

"What's this?"

"It's where Dakota lives."

"… The state?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Who's Dakota?"

"The chief of Tarian Boroughs, naturally… Honesty, we're not supposed to be here without an invitation but since it's for the princess… we really ought to figure out how he's doing…" Raito hummed, knocking on the bark of the tree. There was a ding and a large piece of the bark slid open and there was an elevator inside. Raito stepped in and Matt followed, with his eyes wide.

The doors closed and there was a soothing sound in the small room.

Matt, who had been astonished that there was an elevator in a tree, smiled widely as they rode up and he whooped happily, "Dude! I love this song!"

Raito blinked over at the young boy as he began to mosh.

"S-Stop that!" Raito demanded, being thrashed about. He held Matt by the shoulders and stopped his merriment. "Listen up, you. Dakota is a highly respected man in Oriciel with a vast amount of power. If you act like an idiot in front of him, I will detach myself from you immediately. Understand?"

Matt nodded, grinning. "Sweet. So he's magic?"

"You could say that. If he's apt to do it, he can help you communicate with the princess. You want to see your boyfriend don't you?"

Matt's grin softened into a smirk. "Yeah, of course."

"Good." Raito nodded and then the doors opened. There was a soft smell of cocoa and cinnamon that entered the boys' nostrils as they stepped out of the elevator and the doors closed behind them. In front of them, there was a large room with grass on the floor and large flowers, some the size of Matt's body, littered all over the floor and coming out of the bark. On the opposite side of the room, there were large pieces of bark cut out that acted as windows and Matt could see over the sills, the rest of Tarian.

Raito stepped forward and called out, "Chief Dakota! Chief Dakota, are you-"

"Raito?" said a voice, heavy with age.

"Yes, it's me. May I come in? I have a guest."

"Yes, please!"

Raito nodded to Matt and they walked around the bend of the first room and into another where the flowers bloomed more beautifully across the floor in colors of pinks and purples, allowing no grass to show through. On the wall, there was a tiny waterfall trickling down onto the floor and through the blossoms. On one of the flowers was the form of a man sitting, long gray hair running down his back, covering it from view.

Raito cleared his throat and Matt waited with a few butterflies in his stomach.

Finally, the man turned on the petal of the flower and stood up, a kind smile on his face and a small bloom caught in his hair above his ear. Unfortunately, that was all he had on.

Matt turned away, his face a bright red. "Holy _shit_, Raito, he's-"

Raito punched him harshly in the shoulder. "Face him, you idiot," he whispered, "you want to offend him? We need his help!"

Matt whined in the back of throat and stood up straight, his eyes on the old man's toes.

"Welcome, welcome," the old man greeted, holding his arms out to Raito and embracing him in a hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you, Raito. How's the mail business treating you?"

"Well," he answered. "I get to travel everywhere, see new things…"

"It's what you've always wanted, isn't it?"

"Yes, I'm very happy."

Dakota nodded, that kind smile never leaving his face.

Raito caught sight of Matt out of the corner of his eye and perked up, putting a hand on Matt's shoulder. "Dakota, this is Matt. He's going to rescue Princess Mello."

"Really now?" The old man looked at him with interest.

Matt nodded, finding his voice. "Yeah… he's my boyfriend, y'know, so I kind of have to."

He blinked. "… Mello has a boyfriend?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Matt groaned.

Raito slapped a hand over Matt's mouth and smiled at Dakota. "We were just passing through… we wanted to see if you could help us. We're worried about the princess. We want to establish contact with him to see if Near has harmed him at all. I don't think he would but…"

"Ah, I see," Dakota hummed, turning his back and walking away from them. Matt sighed of relief.

"I know it takes a lot of strength," Raito went on attentively, "but-"

"Nonsense, Raito." He turned his head and smiled over his shoulder. "What kind of monster would I be if I didn't want to help out a prince and his princess?"

Matt blinked. "… Prince? Me?"

Raito coughed behind his hand. "Thank you so much," he said to the old man. He elbowed Matt.

"Oh! Thank you!" Matt blurted, bowing.

Dakota nodded and walked further away to the tiny running waterfall coming out of the bark of the tree. He waved Matt over and the redhead came a little shyly, encouraged only with a nod from Raito. When Matt arrived at the old man's side, averting his eyes, Dakota grabbed his hand and put his fingertips under the water.

"Now," he said, watching as Matt shivered and relaxed at the warming feeling, "I want you to think of the princess very hard. Concentrate on his face."

Matt nodded and closed his eyes and thought of Mello. He hadn't seen him in a long time, it felt like. They hadn't spent this much time apart since… never. It'd be so good to talk to him again, see his face. Maybe even…

There was a sound like a sonic boom in Matt's head and he jerked his neck, grunting, face scrunching at the squeezing in his head and, suddenly, the water than was once a clear blue was a hot pink.

Matt opened his eyes again and was looking at the profile of Mello's face. He could hear Dakota's chuckle at Matt's expression and heard Raito's soft footsteps as he joined Matt and Dakota, watching Mello's form in the expanded waterfall.

"Mello!" Matt shouted, excited. "Hey, Mel!"

Mello blinked and turned around wildly. "Near?" he asked to the empty room he inhabited. "Is that you?" Then he turned behind him and shrieked at seeing a wavy portal through which Raito, Dakota and Matt looked at him.

"Hi, Mel!" Matt greeted, waving.

"WHO THE _FUCK_ ARE YOU PEOPLE?"

Matt squinted at Mello's yelling, not having heard it in a while.

Raito growled, irritated. "Mello, don't you recognize me at all?"

Mello blinked and squinted one eye at the brunet, taking a hesitant step up to the portal. After getting a good look at him, he said, "Raito? What're you… Dakota? What the… what're you doing? For all you know, I could've been in the shower."

Raito rolled his eyes.

"… And who in hell is that?" he asked, pointing to Matt aggressively.

Matt's jaw then dropped, his eyes bugging.

Raito raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean who is he? He's your boyfriend, right?"

"… Wait a minute. Are you Matt?" Mello asked.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm Matt! You remember now, Mel? Jesus, don't scare me like that!" Matt let out a breath, trying to breathe easy. "Maybe Near knocked you on the head or some shit… don't worry, I'll get you out. I'm on my way right now, okay? It's just, I'm still in Oriciel and I'm really hungry and I got chased-"

"Wait, wait. Rodger sent me a letter about a kid named Matt that was supposed to rescue me," Mello said thoughtfully, looking Matt up and down.

Matt blinked. "You mean you don't remember me?"

"I've never seen you before in my life."

"… Oh," Matt said, scratching the back of his head.

Mello shrugged. "If you're supposed to be rescuing me, what're you doing over there? Casting magic spells and hanging around with a _mailman_," he said, directing it at Raito.

Raito snorted disgustedly. "Sorry for withholding your boyfriend, _princess_," he hissed.

Dakota looked back and forth from the two and then looked to Mello. "Now, Mello, please be friendly. They were worried about you and wanted to check if Near had harmed you at all."

Mello looked out at them. "… You were worried about me?"

Raito snorted. "_Matt_ was."

Matt shrugged lightly.

Mello looked back at him, seemed to debate something, and sighed. From the looks of this Matt-kid's face, he might have gotten his feelings hurt, Mello thought. But boyfriend? Come on, since when did Mello have a boyfriend? This kid was obviously kind of kooky. But, kooky or not, he had made it to Tarian Boroughs in concern for Mello's safety. He figured the least he could do for the kid was humor him a bit.

He cleared his throat then. "Well, Matt, listen up. Thanks for being all concerned and shit… I'm all right, though. I mean, aside from being completely deprived of good chocolate and being under surveillance and all. But you don't need to come rescue me, after all. I've thought up a plan."

Matt blinked. "You have?"

"Fuck yeah. I'm no damsel in _distress_," he said smugly and smirked. "Here's the deal… I'm going trick Near into speeding up the process a little."

Raito and Matt exchanged glances. "Process?"

"Sure. You know, Near's kidnapped me because he wants to bang me, right?"

Matt almost choked. "He DOES?"

"Of _course _he does! Don't be an idiot. I figure, if he wants my virginity, he can have it. After all's said and done, he'll have what he wants and let me go. I'll be back in the castle and fixing everything before the week's out."

Everyone, including Dakota, stared.

Mello blinked. "What?"

"Mello, you asshole!" Matt scolded. "You can't just _screw_ Near!"

"Why _not_?" Mello shot back. "I don't see _your_ ass up here on a white horse! At least I have a plan!"

"What if he doesn't set you free?" Matt screamed, hysterical. "That's your goddamn virginity you're talking about giving away!"

"Hell, it's not like I'm using it."

"But it's supposed to be mine," he whined.

"WHAT?"

Raito groaned. "Stop it!" he ordered, whilst being ignored. "Stop arguing about it, it's ridiculous! Mello, keep your legs closed!"

"Make me!"

"I ought to!"

"Fine, do it!"

"I will!"

Matt was panicking as Mello and Raito went back and forth. How could Mello do such a thing? How could he even think it? Sure, he didn't remember their relationship but… honestly!

"I'm doing whatever the fuck I want with my body!" Mello declared. "And that's the end of it! Dakota, I order this conversation over with!"

The old man nodded kindly and smiled. "As you wish, princess."

As he pushed Matt's unwilling hand back into the waterfall, Mello snorted, "See you in Oriciel."

When the portal closed, Matt, stricken with grief, howled, "NOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Somewhere in one of the many large rooms of Near's palace in Navariel, the young King was sitting on the floor, one of his legs folded under him and the other curled to his chest as he sat amongst a field of toys. Tracks to a train set was set up all around the room, crisscrossing over and over again. As the train ran past Near once again, he looked up from it and onto a large screen on other wall, watching as Mello walked away from his desk and sat on his bed, brooding.

Just a moment ago, the blond had been yelling madly at absolutely nothing. Near had watched this with the sound on mute for a while before turning back to his toys. His advisors, who had been standing next to him at the time, had been silently sending "what the fuck?" looks to each other before one of them spoke.

"King, permission to speak," said Hal, standing at attention.

"Of course," he replied quietly.

"Your Highness, I think perhaps the princess is going… well, he seems to be…"

Gevanni, standing beside her, coughed, "Insane."

Hal shook her hair out of her eyes. "Yes, well… he just doesn't seem to be very healthy. He hasn't eaten too much, he's been laughing to himself on occasion and now it seems he is yelling at himself. Maybe we should let him out of the room for a little bit. It can't be good for him."

Near said nothing. He watched as the train chugged along the tracks.

"If you _want_ to," Hal added in the silence. "It was only a suggestion."

"Yes…" Near drawled. He looked up at the two of them and cracked a small smile. "You're very right. After all, I don't want my bride to be insane, right?"

Hal nodded. "Right."

* * *

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: _Hope this was all right! Please tell me your thoughts!_


	7. Art of Seduction

A/N: _Thanks for the reviews, guys. Quick explanation, the reason mail is being delivered even as Raito travels with Matt is because he is not the ONLY mailman in the two Kingdoms. -wink- So look out for the other one!_

* * *

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**seven.**

* * *

It took almost an hour to calm Matt down after the conversation with Mello was terminated. Dakota watched interestedly as Matt stormed around the room, sometimes on the verge of tears but angry nonetheless, and Raito following him, trying to get him to behave. Finally, Raito forced Matt to sit down on one of the large flower petals. Matt looked up at him through his fogged up goggles and sighed heavily, placing his chin in the palms of his hand.

"What am I going to _do_?" he moaned.

Raito shrugged. "Go through with it. Surely, Mello will come to his senses. If you're really his boyfriend, you know how he can be…"

"Oh, I know! I've had to put up with it since we were kids! But since he's been kidnaped and all, you think he'd be more adult!"

Raito thought back on Matt's childish whining and thrashing about and wondered just who he could call not-adult. Nevertheless, the brunet sat down next to Matt in comforting silence. Then, there was a low grumble and Matt looked down at his stomach disappointedly.

"Ugh… I forgot about being hungry…" he said, laying back.

Dakota then took this chance to smile and wave the boys over the corner of the room. "I heard your stomach talking a while ago!" he called. "You can have something to eat if you want!"

Matt blinked, sitting up.

Raito stood, pulling Matt up with him. As they walked around the corner, Matt murmured, "It's not flowers, is it?" and Raito elbowed him in the ribs.

In a few minutes, they were standing in front of a wooden table that seemed to be coming out of the floor, flourishing with colorful foods on large leaves that served as plates. The wooden chairs surrounding the table were also coming out of the floor and Matt squealed happily, taking his seat on the left side of Dakota as he sat. Raito calmly sat on Dakota's right side and he and Matt surveyed the dishes that Matt had never seen before.

"Thank you so much for this," Raito said to Dakota. "You've really been such a help."

"Oh, of course it's no problem-"

"Okay," Matt announced, cracking his knuckles, "I'm about to keel over from starvation so I'm going to do the smart thing and not ask what any of this is."

"Matt!" Raito chided.

Dakota laughed. "It's all right, Raito, surely he isn't used to these things. Where are you from anyway, brave hero?"

Matt picked up a fork on the side of his leaf and began to slice into something that seemed flower-like in texture and was bright purple and yellow. A piece fell off and Matt chucked into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Hey," he said after swallowing, "this isn't bad... Oh, I'm from Tokyo."

"I've never heard of that place before."

"Yeah..." Matt drawled, skipping the niceties and throwing the rest of the dish into his mouth, chewing raucously. "Apparently no one around here has." He shook his fork at Raito teasingly. "They all think I'm crazy."

Raito squinted. "Just a little."

"Well, I'm not. At first," he said, slowing his inhalation of the food, "I thought I was dreaming. But you can feel things here and it hurts and, well, I can taste this... So I guess I can't be dreaming. It's so weird... I guess playing all those games must've really taken its toll on me."

Matt turned back to the rest of the food after his musings, casually inspecting each dish before throwing it into his mouth, and Raito sighed, not really touching his meal. He looked at Dakota and said, "I hope he is able to rescue Mello... but if he isn't, Rodger will attack Navariel, you know. It'll all be a mess. Near won't hesitate to fight. We still don't even know what he wants the princess for..."

Dakota nodded. "You don't think you can make it in time?"

"We've had... problems."

"Those damned Kogs for one," Matt said over his mouthful. "Glad they're behind."

"But there is _more_ ahead," Raito insisted.

Matt groaned, a bit of leaf falling from his mouth. "How much more?"

"We are only still in Oriciel. We have not yet even reached the Gatekeeper. If you do not manage to get yourself together and not run like a coward-"

"_You_ were running too!"

"I'm not the one attempting to rescue Mello!"

"You're helping me, aren't you?" Matt asked, desperate. He did not want to admit it but Raito was the only thing he had beside that stupid rock in his back pocket and his map. If Raito were to leave him, he'd have to go it alone and he knew nothing of either Kingdom. It was because of Raito that he had escaped the Kogs and from his past gaming experiences, Matt believed Raito whole-heartedly when he said there were bigger dangers ahead.

"Aren't you?" Matt insisted when Raito said nothing.

"Yes, I'm with you but I am only doing my job as a mailman. That's all I am, I can't do anything more," Raito said, resigned.

Dakota sighed, looking at Raito. "Do you really only mean to deliver mail, Raito?"

"Yes," he said, his lips pressed together tightly, "that's what I mean to do."

Matt rolled his eyes. "You always were impossible, Yagami."

Raito turned the faintest shade of red and stood in a huff from the table, pushing his chair back.. He nearly shouted at Matt, "Stop calling me that! I don't know what more you want from me when I'm doing all I can for you."

Matt blinked, startled. "I didn't mean-"

But Raito turned away from both of them and went off around the corner. When he was out of sight, he said, "When you're ready to leave, tell me."

Matt just stared after him, not sure what was wrong.

* * *

_King Near,_

_I am sorry it has taken me all this time to finally contact you about Princess Mello. Things have been hectic in Oriciel as of late. The people are very worried about their princess. But I know that Mello is in good hands as you would not have taken him had you not reason to do so. As such, I fear that you are willing to defend your treasure by means of force should we attack Navariel. As the princess's advisor, it is my duty to take up all decisions of defense and foreign affairs in his absence and so I have decided to call a truce. I request that you let Oriciel be and in return, we will allow that you keep Princess Mello. I will take over the throne his place and we will never pose a threat to your Kingdom. _

_Rodger Ruvie._

Gevanni lowered the blue and white paper that the letter had been written on and peered over it at the young King who sat in his usual place on the floor, neglecting his throne at the head of the room. The blinds covering the large floor-to-wall windows were drawn, blocking out what little daylight actually came to Navariel. The room was covered in the blue glow from the monitors surveying Mello in his room.

Near had been silent as Gevanni read the letter to him and Hal stood at Gevanni's side, sending him strange looks as Gevanni, for effect, attempted to read in Rodger's voice. Near simply watched the train run on its tracks around the large room, sitting with one knee pulled up to his chest.

Gevanni cleared his throat. "That's all, sir."

Near nodded slightly, holding a plush rabbit in the crook of his arm, smashing it to his chest. It was silent sill, only the train making noise until Hal could stand the tension no longer and asked attentively, "Will you consider his truce, sir?"

Near held the rabbit tighter if that was at all possible and looked up at his advisors with a worryingly large frown on his face. "Consider? I would never do such a thing. The way Rodger speaks to me... he will 'allow' that I keep Mello when Mello is mine already? Does that honestly make any sense?"

Gevanni and Hal shook their heads in unison.

"Rodger is an idiot," Near grumbled, brooding slightly. He curved his back and placed his face onto his knee, not allowing his expression to be seen.

Gevanni looked at Hal and whispered, "It's pretty assuming of Rodger to think that he can just take over Oriciel."

Hal nodded. "Surely that would not go over too well with Oricielians."

"Right, right," Gevanni said thoughtfully, "Mello wasn't always the calmest or most sober person but he would take care of their needs..."

"Plus, he isn't so bad looking..."

"Rodger, on the other hand."

The two of them shivered involuntarily.

Near lifted his head after having listened to Hal and Gevanni's supposedly private conversation. He seemed thoughtful for a moment before looking over at them with his famous indifferent expression and called them to attention.

"I know what to do," he said slowly. But it seemed an unfinished thought and as his two advisors waited to hear Near's idea, Near rolled onto the floor on his belly and held the rabbit out in front of him. He said to it, "We shall attack Oriciel. Hold nothing back."

Hal blinked and Gevanni gasped and, forgetting himself, shouted, "What for?"

Near whipped his head around and glared lightly at the dark-haired man. "I was talking to the bunny, not you."

Gevanni gulped. "S-Sorry."

Near turned his attention back to the stuffed rabbit. "I will forge the Kingdoms together," he said with a trace of happiness in his voice. "Then Mello and I can rule as Queen and King over the entire land. It will be amazing," he said softly.

Hal felt the need to say something but didn't want to get snapped at as Gevanni had. She cleared her throat softly and said, in the squeakiest of voices, "But Oricielians and Navarielians are not compatible, your Highness. Having them live in harmony is... is a great feat indeed."

"But herein lies the genius," Near said, tilting his head at the rabbit. "The Oricielians will have to go."

Hal furrowed her eyebrows. "You are going to kill them all, sir?" she asked, trying to mimic a rabbit's would-be voice.

"I was going to enslave them but killing works too," he mused.

Gevanni groaned at the woman beside him. "You're making it worse," he whispered harshly. "Quit while you're ahead."

"Don't you think Mello would be... a tiny bit distraught at the prospect of his Kingdom being infiltrated and his subjects eaten alive?" she asked, ignoring Gevanni.

Near seemed thoughtful and Hal and Gevanni waited with bated breath at his verdict.

"I don't know," he said. "... We shall ask him."

Hal blinked. "_Ask_?"

Gevanni took a hesitating step towards the monitors. "Would you like the sound on, your Highness."

Near waved a hand. "No, not this time. Please, bring him to me."

Gevanni paused, only for a second, and then nodded, bowing slightly, and waving to the two guards standing over in the back of the room. He told them to fetch the princess and they bowed to him and left the three alone in the silence. There was a twenty minute period in which nothing was said and Near only played with his rabbit in contemplative silence and Hal and Gevanni felt it prudent to not say anything.

When the guards returned, the silence was broken.

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME OR I'LL SCRATCH YOUR FUCKING EYES OUT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Mello wailed, thrashing about in the guards' grips. He kicked and squired but they held him firmly. Careful, though, as they knew what might befall them should they harm Near's future wife.

The doors closed behind the three of them and the guards, tired of Mello's constant insults and physical abuse, dumped him onto the floor. Mello cursed under his breath and looked up, his blond hair falling in a part over his face. His blue eyes met with the cerulean glow of the room and he squinted to be able to see clearly. There were three figures in the room other than he and the guards - two standing and one sitting, small and hunched over. The figure he knew to be Near.

Mello rose to his feet and the white, sheer dress he had been wearing with ruffled ends hung down to mid-thigh. He shook his hair out of his eyes and, though he felt his usual anger at being carried and tossed around like a rag doll, he determined to keep himself calm. True, this was not how he had imagined it, but this was no doubt the time to carry out his plan.

The two figures who had been watching Mello from his entrance looked at him as he walked across the cold tile floor onto the soft carpet and stood feet away from Near.

"So," he breathed, placing a hand on his hip. "What'd you want me for?"

Near didn't look at him, only kept his back turned to the princess. "I wished to speak with you, Mello. I'm sorry you had to be forced in here like that. I do hope they were gentle."

The guards swallowed harshly.

Mello only rolled his eyes. "A brute is a brute. What did you want to talk about anyway?" he asked, taking another step. He looked over at Hal and gevanni who were standing idly by and watching the interaction with interest. Mello scowled at them and then turned his head at the two guards behind them. He said, exasperated, "All right, who the fuck are these people? Can't we talk _alone_, Near?"

"These are my advisors," Near introduced, holding out a hand in their direction. "Gevanni and Hal."

Gevanni waved and Hal nodded.

Mello frowned. "All right, okay, but what are they _doing _here?"

Hal held her hands up. "We'll leave, if his Highness would like. But I must insist that the guards stay in here for the King's protection. You are a captive, after all. We don't know if you would be obliged to strangle him."

Mello rolled his eyes. "How much trouble could I be in this stupid dress?"

Hal blinked and looked over to the guards who had busted lips and black eyes. She said, "I must insist."

"Aw hell!" Mello cried out, throwing his arms into the air. "I don't fucking care - watch if you want to, you perverts."

Gevanni paused, finger raised. "Pervert...?"

Mello walked around Near, his left eye twitching in slight annoyance as the train ran along the tracks in the room, repeating its "choo choo" noise every so often. This really was not the proper mood-setting for seduction but Mello supposed beggars couldn't be choosers. After all, this must've have been what Near had called him for and Mello contemplated his next move as Near spoke.

"I wanted to get your opinion on some things, princess. As you must know, your Kingdom has been worried about your safety. This, however, does not apply to all over your subjects as I have just received a letter from your advisor this morning. Gevanni, if you would please re-read the letter to Princess Mello."

"Ah, yes, your Highness." Gevanni cleared his throat and held the paper up. "King Near, I am sorry-"

"Ah... Mello..."

Gevanni's head popped over the top of the paper and he stared curiously as Mello sat down beside Near, placing a delicate hand on top of Near's which rested on his knee. Near looked up, an unusual expression on his face, one of near shock as Mello smirked at him suggestively and leaned over so their noses almost touched.

"Why're you having that idiot read crap like that, huh?" Mello asked, his voice like velvet. "Shouldn't we be talking about romantic things?"

"Romantic..." Near blinked, wide-eyed and grasping onto his bunny for dear life. "Mello, is there something you would like to say?"

Hal watched, too stunned to make any sort of comment to Gevanni and vice-versa.

Mello shook his head and laughed as he grasped the collar of Near's loose clothes in his fists and pulled Near on top of him as he lay down on the carpet. He said, "I've got something I want to _show_ you."

Mello got the distinct feeling that Near had very little idea of what he was hinting at by the look of confusion and light discomfort on his face. Mello groaned inwardly as he thought maybe he should not leave it up to a shut-in to take the lead in such matters, so he rolled over with Near, putting himself on top. Near had somewhere in the tossing and turning lost his rabbit and his hands were free. Mello took this opportunity to take one of Near's smooth, pale hands and shove it right up his dress.

Near gasped and flushed heatedly while everyone else in the room shouted out in horror.

"Oh my god, what do we do?" Gevanni nearly wailed, hopping frantically around Hal. "The King is being raped! Goodness!"

Hal slapped Gevanni once in the face and then called over to Near, "My King, are you quite enjoying yourself? Or would you like us to stop him?"

Mello, ignoring the two advisors, leaned into Near's neck and placed a fevered kiss there. "Don't be shy, for fuck's sake," he whispered in his ear. "I've got what you want and you know how to use it."

Near strained to move from under Mello but the blond had him pinned. "Mello, please... can't you wait for the wedding night?"

"No, I want it _now_ - whatthefuckinghell?" Mello sat up, all sultriness gone from his voice. He stared at Near as if he had just struck him. "What are you talking about - _wedding night_?"

Near sighed, able to prop himself up on his elbows with the lack of weight on his chest. "This was not how I planned on doing it," he said slowly, "but I was going to ask your hand in marriage."

And for Mello, is seemed that all time stopped. He stared at Near for what seemed like a very long time but was, in reality, only a few seconds until the weight of what had been said came crashing down on Mello like a raging waterfall.

"Fuck. No. I am not going to be your _housewife_, Near! Have you lost your damn mind?" Mello shouted, rising to his feet, his initial plot of seduction abandoned. So - Near wasn't after his virginity after all. He was after Mello's hand in marriage? The very notion made Mello sick to his stomach.

"Not housewife," Near said calmly. "Queen. I want-"

"La la la la la!" Mello cried out, plugging his ears with his index fingers and parading around the room. "I'm not listening! You can keep your delusions to yourself, freak!"

Mello waltzed over to the door that way, his fingers shoved into his ears and fuming mad, almost incoherent with denial. He said to the guards, "I want to go back to my room now!" The nine words he thought he'd never say.

They looked at the King for approval and Near sighed, nodding to them. When the doors shut behind them, Near looked back at his rabbit laying on the floor and said most sincerely, "That went well."

* * *

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: _That's all for now. Please tell me your thoughts._


	8. In a New Light

A/N: _Thank you for the comments, everyone._

* * *

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**eight.**

* * *

The moon was full and hanging over the west side of the large tree. Matt had finished eating just about everything on the table a half hour ago and went searching around the tree for Raito to try and apologize for whatever he had said to hurt his feelings. He ended up not being able to find him, as Raito must've hid himself. It disappointed Matt a little to learn that his partner was emo.

He temporarily gave up on Raito, determining that if the brunet wanted to be found, he would come out of his closet and stop cutting himself. Honestly, he thought as he walked out onto one of the balconies of the tree, leaning on the wooden rail, what had he even said to make Raito stomp off like that? He couldn't remember.

But it didn't matter, because they had to leave pretty soon. Matt looked out over the town of Tarian calmly and watched as, shrouded in moonlight, trees popped up randomly in the middle of the street. And it annoyed him greatly that the few people who were out this late never got hit in the head by one. The leaves of the tree moved quietly in the breeze and he sat down, pushing his legs through the rails of the banister and let them swing over what was probably a seventy foot drop down to the ground.

He leant his head against one of the wooden bars and sighed heavily. This was all too much. Emo mailmen, a beloved boyfriend as a slutty ho and naked wizards who looked like they hopped out of the 70's. And then there was just so much distance between him and Mello that what if he actually ended up giving Near his virginity?

Matt never really knew Near, not all that well. They were always in the same class, he, Mello and Near and the little pale kid never said much but he often got on Matt's nerves because he was just so damn smart. Matt never paid him much attention and vice-versa. But, of course, that was in _his_reality where Yagami was an anal English teacher and not an emo mailman and Near was just a kid with poor social skills and not an evil ruler and Mello was… well, really, Mello had _always_ been a princess.

Matt sighed and kicked his feet. He perked up, when, over the edge of town, he saw something glistening in the distance, like a sparkle on the horizon. It was a river going down into the east until it couldn't be seen anymore and as Matt stretched his neck to get a better look, there was a hand placed on his shoulder.

Matt gasped and looked up and then wailed in anguish.

"Good Lord!" Matt shouted, turning away. Dakota was standing next to him, looking out into Tarian as well, not aware that the view Matt had just received was not at all pleasant.

"I came to inform you that Raito is waiting inside for you. He says it's time that you go," Dakota said, coming down to his knees and easing into a sitting position beside Matt. Matt averted his eyes and nodded.

He began to get up but Dakota replaced his hand on the teenager's shoulder and held him still. "We must talk for a moment, Matt."

Matt blinked and slowly reseated himself. He hooked his arms through the rails again and looked out to the east. "Yeah, okay. What about?"

"Well," Dakota mused, "about you, actually. I know this is a tough thing you're going to have to do. The fact that you would risk your life to save Mello at all is a very brave endeavor. But there are things between you and Mello that can not be overcome by mere bravery alone. You have to be able to fight your way through to him or else you and Raito will both be killed."

Matt swallowed.

"What's the matter?" Dakota asked. "You aren't afraid to fight, are you?"

"W-Well no," Matt said. "It's just… all right, when me and Mello bitch-slap and kick each other over petty arguments, that's one thing. When Mello beats the living shit out of someone because he's having an off day and I end up getting beat up because I try to stop him, that's another. Trying to manhandle a thing that is five times your size with sharp teeth and blood red eyes is _entirely different_!"

Dakota laughed good-naturedly. "Matthew, you must know that there are more than Kogs out there."

Matt nodded, his left eye twitching at being called Matthew. "I know it…"

"Don't be so afraid. Surely, you know sacrifices must be made to rescue the princess."

"I don't want that sacrifice to be my arm," he stressed. Matt groaned and turned away, putting his arm over his face. "I love Mello," he said, pulling it away again, "he knows that. Well, he used to anyway. I think… but, Jesus, how come shit has to be so hard? I wish I could just press A and B…"

Dakota studied Matt for a second and really didn't have much of an idea of what A and B meant but he decided that Matt must be delirious with fear and worry. He patted Matt on the back consolingly.

"And Mello is so freaking selfish," the teenager went on, "just because he doesn't remember me, doesn't mean he can go off and give away his virginity because he thinks it'll get him out of Navariel. If anything, it's just going to make Near hold on to him! That idiot!"

"Matt, Matt," Dakota said. He reached around himself on the other side and caught Matt's attention with something shining in his peripheral vision. Matt turned and gasped when he saw the sword that Dakota held in his right hand. The hilt was silver with a dark blue jewel on the center, sparkling like a far off star. The blade itself was about three feet long and glinted just faintly in the moonlight. Dakota watched Matt's expression amusedly and handed the sword to him, placing it firmly in Matt's right hand.

Matt mentally marveled at the weight of the thing, the sword pulling his hand down almost to meet the wood of the balcony. He strained and lifted it, bringing his other hand around to hold it properly. Matt studied it for a moment more before an eager grin broke out over his face and he said, breathlessly, "This is _so_ fucking awesome."

Dakota smiled. "I'm happy you approve. It is for you. I had it just laying around and figured you might be able to make use of it."

"Hell yes I will!" Matt stood up abruptly and swung the sword around in a wild manner. "I'll kill countless Kogs with this! Can I get upgrades? - Whoa!"

"AHHH!"

Raito ducked just in the knick of time as Matt swung the blade over his head, simultaneously cutting Raito's little blue mail hat in half. The hat flew to the ground in two pieces. All three of them were wide-eyed and Raito, who stood half in the doorway of the balcony, stood up slowly and Matt lowered his sword. They stared at the blue thing on the floor.

Raito blinked. "You killed my hat."

"S… Sorry, dude…"

Raito sighed, controlling his temper, and looked down at Dakota. "You gave him a sword?"

"He has to have _something_," Dakota said.

Raito opened his mouth to say something along the lines of _At this rate, we'll both get killed before we take a step out of Tarian._but decided against it upon seeing Matt's semi-excited expression and the way he was trying so hard not to let the sword fall out of his grasp. Instead, Raito only sighed and neglected to pick up the corpse of his hat. He walked back into the room, waving for Matt to follow him and the redhead did, dragging his sword with one hand along the ground with him.

Dakota followed them to the door of the elevator and handed Matt a backpack with various foods in it that the boy had seemed to like at dinner. Matt thanked him heartily and shouldered it onto his back. Carrying the sword in his hand was getting to be a little much, so, without a sheath, he stuck it through the belt loop of his pants on his right hip and smiled when the hilt caught and it didn't slide through.

"We'll be going now," Raito said, pressing a button on the elevator. "Thanks for everything, Dakota, really."

"My pleasure," he said, smiling.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, when I kill my first monster, I'll yell 'This is for Dakota!' into the wind or some shit. It'll be epic."

Raito rolled his eyes as they both entered the elevator and the doors closed between them and Dakota.

* * *

"And then there was this blue one that came by and starting playing with the red one. The yellow one, for once, trusted me enough to sit on my thigh while the other ones played around. Really, I wanted to get up and play with them but since the yellow one seemed content, I didn't want it to go away-"

"_Matsuda_," L stressed, about to go cross-eyed with frustration. The young man had been standing there in front of the counter for an undetermined amount of time and L, since he had no customers, just stood there and _listened_.

Matsuda looked down from his recalling of his past few hours and smiled at L. "Yes?"

"Could you please stop talking about butterflies for five minutes? _Five minutes_?"

"Oh, okay. … What should I do in the meantime?"

L was about to say something that bordered on being rude but before he could, the door burst open and Aizawa was standing in the doorway, his garden hoe in his grasp. He had a somewhat worried look on his face, at least for Aizawa, simply because he never much worried about anything except his garden.

"We have a problem," he said, storming inside.

L looked at him lazily. "What is it, Aizawa? Do you need more pesticides for your tomatoes?"

"No, it's Rodger. I heard screams coming from his house and he won't answer the door."

Matsuda gasped. "That's horrible. Perhaps he's broken a hip."

L rolled his eyes. "He's fifty-five, not eighty-five, Matsuda."

"Just the same, we should go investigate," Matsuda said, walking towards Aizawa and urging L to come by pulling on his sleeve. L protested that he had a shop to tend to but both Matsuda and Aizawa countered him by saying hardly anyone visits his shop anyway.

The three of them went outside, L being dragged along against his will and they saw there was a small crowd of people arranged on Rodger's doorstep. It was odd for this time of night for anyone in Oaken Villa to be out of their beds and L considered this but then knew the reason as, upon approaching the little cottage, horrible screams emitted from inside. Aizawa pushed his way back up to the door and knocked forcefully, shooing the other townspeople away. Still, nothing.

"Rodger?" Matsuda called, standing beside Aizawa. "Are you all right?"

"Of course he isn't all right, you blue-footed booby!" Aizawa scolded. "It sounds as if he's being ripped apart!"

Matsuda began to fret and that's when the townspeople backed up, not wanting to be wetted with his tears. L pushed his thumb to his bottom lip in thought and stretched his neck, looking over the corner of the house, spying a light shining and went for it, opening the little wooden fence surrounding Rodger's backyard.

He held the gate open, looking at the other two and waving. "Here, come here," he said.

Matsuda's ears perked up and he tugged on Aizawa's shirt, pulling the man with him into the backyard with L. The gate closed behind them with a silent click and the three men went around the side until they found the window that light was coming from. L told them to keep their heads down so as not to be noticed.

"Your hair sticks up five inches," Aizawa accused.

Before L could respond, the figure of Rodger came into view and, his hands raised to his face, pulling down on his rubbery cheeks as he held some sort of paper in his left hand. The three peeping-toms watched with wide eyes as Rodger kicked things over in a rage, yelling mostly incoherent things.

"Rodger's gone mad with worry for the princess," Matsuda mused sadly.

Aizawa snorted. "Rodger wouldn't worry over his own mother that much. He must've lost his toenail clipper again."

"Do either of you know what that paper is?" L asked, zeroing in on it.

Matsuda shook his head. "It looks like stationary."

L nodded slowly. "Navarielian stationary. See the dark little sheep as embroidery?"

"From the King, huh?" Aizawa asked. "It must be the ransom."

"Ah, I wish we could see what he wants," Matsuda whined, "I'd give anything to get the princess back!"

Rodger threw the paper down on the desk and stormed out into the hallway, turning and slamming a door which was probably his bedroom door behind him. There were more shouts of frustration and then it quieted in the house some. L bit down on his lower lip and finally stood from his hiding place just under the sill in the grass. He pulled on the window and started to lift it.

Matsuda's eyes widened. "What're you doing, L? We can't go in without permission!"

"You want to see what it says, don't you?" L asked, pushing it up finally. He kicked in the screen and it fell onto the carpet inside with a quiet thud. Matsuda cringed along with Aizawa who stood and waited for L to creep in before doing so himself.

"W-Wait, you guys! Ahh..." Matsuda did a nervous little dance before coming in himself, lifting his legs over one at a time. When he was inside the cottage, he looked around, seeing the fire in the firplace worn down to just small flames, the soot and ash spilling out onto the carpet and staining it. There were papers and candles scattered loosely all over Rodger's desk and a few fallen to the floor.

L had picked up the paper that Rodger had thrown, it had been hanging just over the side of the desk, fluttering in the breeze they had let in with the open window. L held it up, wlaking towards the fireplace for more light.

"Well?" Aizawa asked, taking a step towards him. "What's it say?"

L studied it. "It's dated today... Near is refusing Rodger's offer for a truce. He says Mello belongs to him and that he will exterminate all of... Oriciel... he will forge the two Kingdoms so that he and Mello can rule over it all." L blinked, the paper falling loose in his hand.

Matsuda was staring at him with wide eyes. "... _What_?"

"You've got to be kidding!" Aizawa shouted, suddenly being shushed by the other two men. Aizawa growled, "Don't you shush me. Who cares if he's here? He's got some explaining to do anyway, what's this about a truce? With Near, is he crazy?"

"Apparantly, Rodger has some secret desires of his own," L hummed, setting the paper back in place.

"The poor princess," Matsuda groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Poor princess?" Aizawa echoed. "While he's over there being pampered by Near and we're here about to be slaughtered. Honestly, Matsuda, your priorities."

"The army has no choice but to fight Navariel now," Matsuda explained, "not only will countless lives be lost but think of Matt out there all on his own! This is probably why Rodger's so upset, we don't have a choice now... Agh..."

L sighed to himself. "This is starting to get out of control."

"Wait... what was that?" Aizawa looked up, the others joining him.

The door down the hall had opened and there was the sound of rustling. Aizawa and Matsuda panicked, looking wildly about the room and L had to calm them down quickly, telling them to get out of the window. Aizawa followed orders and jumped out headfirst, landing in a bush full of thorns. Matsuda followed, tenderly stepping down into the garden. L started to get out but then heard a footstep inside the room, threw himself to the side and hid under the chair pulled up to the desk.

Rodger walked in, dripping wet, with a towel draped around his slim hips and another wrapped around his nearly-bald head. He looked over at the desk and grasped the letter from Near he had thrown there.

"This is horrible," he murmured to himself. "After all these _years_ of kissing the princess's ass, _I _get the shaft when he finally gets kidnapped! Well, I won't stand for it... Honestly, do I have to fight for just this one thing? To rule over Oriciel, is that so much to ask? I'd do worlds better than Mello but King Near and his selfishness... well, not this time..."

Rodger crumpled up the paper in his grip and threw it into the wastebasket next to a leg of the chair L was crouching under. L watched the paper go in with an eyebrow raised and watched as Rodger's bare old legs walk around the desk. It sounded as if he were scrambling things around out of pure frustration. Then, it stopped.

"What the..." Rodger bent down and picked up the screen from the window on the floor. He held it and looked at the open window, shivering now that he noticed the draft in the room wasn't just from his not having clothes. Rodger stuck his head out of the window curiously and did not notice the two young men hiding just beneath the window sill in the bushes, being pricked to death by the torns.

"Hmm," he hummed and shut the window, tossing the screen on his desk. "I'll send a letter tomorrow for the army to arrive."

And with that, he left the room.

L hurriedly got out from his hiding place and took for the window, pushing it up again and falling out, into the bushes and on top of the other two, despite their screams for him to be careful.

"Come with me," L whispered harshly to them, scrambling out of the bushes, thorns and all. He ran out of the gate and Aizawa and Matsuda followed, shutting it behind them. They stopped out on the cobblestone street out front and L was gasping for breath.

"I'm surprised you weren't caught!" Matsuda exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Rodger is not fighting for our safety," he panted, "he's fighting to take control of Oriciel..."

Matsuda gaped. "What?"

Aizawa rolled his eyes and groaned. "Is there no such thing as decency anymore?"

L quirked an eyebrow. "That's a funny thing for you to be saying, Aizawa," he mumbled. "No, this is serious... I have to leave tonight, I have to go after Matt."

"Go after him?" Aizawa cried out. "You can't save him, he's probably already dead!"

Matsuda frowned. "Morbid much? L, you're so brave! I'll go with you!"

"Oh no, please-"

Aizawa laughed. "That's right, Matsuda, you go with him!"

"Do not encourage him!" L snapped.

Matsuda nearly pushed Aizawa out of the way to stand in front of L. He clasped the older man's hands in his own and got down on one knee like a proposal to which the other two men stood in shocked silence. "Please, L," Matsuda pleaded, looking into the man's dark eyes, "I won't be a burden! I'll do whatever you ask! I won't get in the way!"

L paused for a very long time. He finally sighed and wriggled his hands away from the younger man's sweaty grasp. "All right, Matsuda. If you promise not to be a burden. This is only a trip to get Matt and bring him back before his is violently dismembered."

"Yes, my captain!"

"And never call me that again."

"Oh, okay."

L looked to Aizawa. "I supposed you'll want to be coming too?"

Aizawa busted into hardy laughter. "Yeah right! See you stiffs later. Good luck with that, though. I'll come to your funerals if there's free shrimp," he said as he left them and waved.

Matsuda looked up at L after a moment. "You know, he's kind of an ass."

* * *

****

To be continued.

* * *

A/N: _Thanks for reading! XD Thoughts, yeah? I promise next chapter will be interesting. It took a while to get everyone where they need to be. XP_


	9. Boss Say What?

A/N: _Yay, thank you for reviewing and please, continue to enjoy. _

* * *

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**nine.**

* * *

Raito and Matt walked through the night and early morning in near silence. The grass surrounding the path out of Tarian was blowing gently in the breeze and for some reason, neither of them were very tired even though when they left, it had to be around midnight. Matt, of course, didn't realize it but the food he had eaten was charged with special energizers that kept Matt's body thinking it had just had ten hours of quality sleep. Raito was just used to a lot of traveling and only a little sleep.

They reached a rived just as the sun was coming over the horizon, the grassy hills on the other side of the river they had arrived at were lit up in a pinkish glow. Matt's eyes lit up with interest as they approached the water lapping gently at the dirt surrounding it. The water itself was sparkling like when Matt had seen it up from Dakota's balcony and on the other side, there were more trees.

"So," Matt said, fiddling with the hilt of his sword, "do we just wade across?"

Raito shook his head and looked down stream a bit and pointed out a line of about twenty rocks sticking up out of the water making a sort of bridge. "We'll have to use that," he said in a whisper. "But be quiet about it, all right?"

Matt blinked at him. "Any reason why?" he said loudly.

Raito groaned and turned around with a murderous look in his eyes. "Be silent," he hissed. "Follow me." He began to walk over to the rocks a few yards away.

"Okay…" Matt said, following without hesitation. He thought about it as they made their way down there and thought that perhaps there was a giant monster in the river. Yes, that must be it. Raito didn't want to wake the beast. How epic.

Just as Raito jumped onto the first rock with a catlike grace, he turned around in time to see Matt drawing his sword from his belt loop. "Hey, Yagami, you don't have to worry! We've got a weapon now!" he called, waving the thing wildly.

Raito's jaw dropped. _Matt, you idiot!_

Then, there was a soft sound that seemed to at first come from the horizon. Matt looked up, hearing Raito groan beside him ad before he knew it, the sound that was like a melody out of a seashell was getting louder and coming like a rush of wind towards him, he could actually feel it go through his hair. The water in the center of the stream began to swirl and bubble and there was a splash, something pink flittering into the air and then back down.

"Was that it?" Matt asked, excited. "Was that the cheep-cheep, Yagami?"

"I am not Yagami and what in hell is a cheep-"

The sound swirled with the water and there was a giant splash and something flittered just over the surface again, something yellow. Raito took Matt by his free hand and jumped onto the next rock.

"Let's go!" he called, running and hopping to each one, almost slipping on the wet places. "Matt!"

But then a wave came washing in front of them and Raito had to skid to a halt, leaning forward and almost falling in had it not been for Matt grasping him by the back of his shirt and pulling him back onto one of the large rocks. The waves roared and surrounded them in the middle of the river and, suddenly, it all stopped.

Matt looked around, jittery. "I-I can't see anything."

Raito, who had been pulled to his behind, sat on the rock at Matt's feet, his hands planted firmly on the rock and his eyes zeroing in on a mass of bubbles just in front of them. Out of it came the head of a young woman, her blonde hair sticking to her cheeks. Her eyes sparkled like the water around her and she narrowed them enticingly at Raito, swimming closer to the edge of the rock.

Matt blinked down at her, mouth slightly open. "Dude, it's a chick."

"Run, Matt!" Raito said, staring her in the face.

Matt laughed. "What's she, a mermaid?" He looked over her and saw a pink fin resting on the next rock up, flipping back and forth contentedly. "That's pretty cool."

"I missed you so much, Raito!" she chirruped, latching onto Raito's ankle and hugging it close. Her fin wagged faster. "I was just wondering when you'd come this way again!"

"You saw me a few days ago, Misa," he growled, attempting to kick her off.

"It's been too long," she insisted. She looked up, noticing Matt for the first time. "Oh… Hey!" Her eyes narrowed. "Who's that, Raito? He's not another boyfriend, is he?"

Matt gaped. "Boyfriend?"

"No, he's not. Misa, if you would _please_," he grunted, succeeding in shaking her off. He stood up and dusted off his blue shorts.

"Okay," she said, pouting. "Just as long as you aren't out collecting lovers on me."

Matt looked at the irritated mailman. "This your girlfriend?"

"No, she's not."

"Raito!"

"Well, Misa, I'm sorry but it's not so. Now, please, let us pass. We have something very important to be and-"

She perked up. "What is it? Maybe I can help!"

Matt shrugged. "We're going to rescue Princess Mello," he said.

Raito groaned at Matt when Misa began to cry and scream and thrash her fin about. "RAITO! I knew it! It's Mello! You're going after Mello!"

"Somebody has to rescue him! And he is Matt's boyfriend, I'm just going with him through my route!" Raito tried to defend himself but it seemed that Misa was having none of that. She screamed and a piercing sound emanated from her throat, much like the melody the two boys had heard earlier but at a much higher frequency. She squealed and Raito fell back, holding onto his ears and Matt came down to one knee, shutting his eyes against it.

Matt couldn't see but he felt water splash over him and Misa's screaming quieted and finally stopped. Matt, drenched, looked up, taking his hands down from his ears. When he looked to where Misa had been floating in the water in front of them, he saw not only the blonde-haired mermaid but a raven-haired girl swimming beside her, an emerald green fin beside Misa's pink one.

"What in the world are you yelling about?" the dark-haired girl asked, frowning at Misa.

Before she could respond, Raito gasped and stood up, jumping over Misa's head and onto the next rock over. "Matt," he called back, "run!"

"Run from what? Girls?"

"Ah! Raito!" The other girl looked over her shoulder at the brunet and waved to him fervently. She immediately assessed that he was who Misa had been wailing over and dove down under water, a line of waves following her as she jumped out over the rock Raito was trying to get off of. She tackled him in midair and pulled him into the water with a splash, hitting Matt with a fresh coat of river water.

"Help-!" Raito mumbled, being pulled under. Misa's fin flashed as she went under as well.

"Y… Yagami? Hey! Hey, give him back!" Matt shouted, finally realizing this was some sort of danger. He got down on all fours, his sword in his left hand as he looked down into the water, trying to see. He thought he saw something moving and squinted his eyes, lowering his face until he was an inch away from the surface. "Yagami…" he murmured.

"WAHHH!"

Matt gasped and jumped back as Raito came scrabbling out of the water, hair mussed, eyes wild. He was dripping as he nearly climbed on top of Matt and when they locked eyes, Matt realized that there were lipstick smudges around the area of Raito's mouth.

Matt couldn't help but laugh. "T-They kissed you?"

"This isn't funny!" Raito shouted, enraged. "We have to get out of here or I'll die of poisoning!"

"… Poisoning?" Matt screeched just in time for the water to break again and Misa's blond head popped out, then accompanied by the other girl.

Raito turned around, eyes narrowing. "Misa, Takada, stop this right now! We have to get going!"

"Oh and let you go off and flirt with the princess?" Takada asked sardonically, waving her fin around. She narrowed one eye at him. "Don't you like us anymore Raito?"

Raito coughed out water and rubbed the lipstick off with the back of his hand. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as Matt stood beside him and pointed his sword towards the two girls. "Listen," he announced, attempting to sound firm, "you guys better let us go! Don't make me chop up a couple of girls!"

Takada and Misa looked at each other for a second before breaking out into titters.

Raito rolled his eyes at Matt. "Way to be tough."

"Aw, what? You want tough? Fine!" Matt snorted and raised his sword with both hands, struggling to keep it in line over Takada's head and, because of the weight of the blade, fell backwards into the water with a cry for help.

Takada raised an eyebrow after him.

Misa huffed. "Raito, you pick the worst lovers, you know."

"… He's not my lover!"

Matt climbed out of the water, holding onto the edge of the rock with one hand, the other down in the water clutching onto his sword. "This… this thing's heavy," he panted.

"Matt, get out of the water!"

"Why're you always yellin', huh? I'm coming, sheesh…"

Just as Matt made to get up, he felt something tug on the back of is shirt. When he turned around, the green-finned mermaid was there, holding onto him and smirking. Matt blinked at her and she grinned widely, revealing tiny sharp teeth. "You're pretty cute," she said as if she were pondering her own statement. She looked at him a second longer before wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Do you like me?" she asked.

"Uh… uh… hey, lady, I, uh, have a significant other, you know…" Matt turned slightly red. "I-If you'll let me get to my wallet, I can show you a picture…" He struggled in her grasp but there was nothing he could do; she had bound herself to him in a horribly strong grip. "R-Raito!"

Raito came down on all fours and grabbed Matt's red hair, pulling violently. "Let him go, Takada!"

"AH! MY HAIR! YOU'RE PULLING OUT THE ROOTS!" Matt wailed, being caught between the two.

Takada whined and moaned. "You never let me have any fun, Raito! Just a little kiss…" She leaned over onto Matt's cheeks, her lips puckered with a shiny pink lipstick.

Raito pushed his hand in her face, shoving her away as he continued to pull on Matt. "Don't let her kiss your mouth! It's poison!" he yelled, straining.

Matt closed his eyes tight and inverted his lips, straining to get away from her. Somewhere, he felt another pair of hands on him and heard Misa's voice, "We'll have him if we can't have you, Raito!" and he kicked violently, freeing his arm just long enough for him to bring the sword up swiftly, cutting Takada in the stomach and swiping off one of Misa's pigtails.

Takada screamed, one of pain and not enticement, and went flying against another rock, Matt scrambling onto the rock with Raito and the two hopping madly across the river.

Misa blinked at her pigtail that was floating against the tide of the river and looked up to see her love interest and his friend high-tailing it out of there. She narrowed her eyes and a piercing sound left her throat, the waters around her turning black and bubbling.

Just as the water turned color, Matt jumped from the last rock and landed on solid ground next to Raito, the brunet not wasting another moment and flying off into the woods, yelling for Matt to follow him. Matt, for once, did as he was told and left after him, having to hold his ears against the sounds of Misa's anguish and Takada's cries.

When they were far enough into the forest, Raito stopped up against a tree, holding onto it and panting. Matt skidded to a halt behind him and sat down heavily, throwing his sword down in front of him.

"The thing is too damn heavy! I can barely handle it," he complained, looking at the red coating the tip of the blade.

Raito looked back at him tiredly. "You'll learn. At least you gave us an opening."

Matt shook his head. There was silence and he then looked up as if having just remembered something. "Hey," he said.

"Yeah?"

"I just defeated my first boss. Do I get a level-up?"

"… A _what_?"

* * *

Mello was sulking in bed, tearing at the hem of his dress. He did that sometimes when things got to be too much. Tear at his clothes, that is. When Near's guards first kidnapped him, as Mello was thrown into a sack and whisked away, he tore at his pajamas. When he was dumped on the floor of his cell, he tore at the clothes that Near had had delivered to him. And now, as he sat, bothered and bewildered at Near's marriage proposal, he tore absently, fiddling with the frills that laced along the bottom.

"Honestly… marriage," he said to himself. "What's that little freak even thinking? I should get to choice who I marry, dammit. That's the problem with this whole fucking country… Jesus."

Mello sighed, leaning back into the pillows and letting go of his clothes.

"Maybe," he breathed, "I came on a bit too strong… Maybe I should've tried some of that romance stuff with the little pipsqueak. Hn. Wouldn't matter now anyway. Now I have no choice but to wait for that Matt kid to come and get me. And Raito… AGH, FUCK THIS!" Mello stood up in a huff and threw all of the pillows off of his bed and onto to the floor, stomping on them.

In his whirlwind of fury, he went over to his desk and got out some stationary. He took his pen and scribbled onto the paper furiously, then snatching it up and running over to the other side of the room, slipping it under the crack of the door.

Outside, the two guards that always stood watch over the princess's cell looked down at the paper which said clearly: _SUCK IT._

They looked at each other and sighed.

"Ya see that?" Mello yelled, pounding on the door. "Let me go, dammit!"

"We're sorry, princess," one called back. "No can do."

Mello went into a loud stream of curses so foul that the guards themselves blushed and turned away. The blond stomped around his room for a few minutes, yelling, until he tired himself out and took a seat on one of the pillows on the floor.

Mello yawned slightly, blinking.

"You're quite cute."

That voice.

The blond looked up at the video camera looking down at him and growled at the device. "You pervert, get out of here! I already said no to your creepy proposal!"

"You stormed out so fast; I had not the chance to talk to you properly."

Mello turned his head away in a huff.

"Fine, Mello. You don't have to talk to me but I will be speaking."

"Prick."

"Anyway. I will be going to war with Oriciel for their land. If my throne is growing then so should the Kingdom, don't you think?"

"I think you're a giant – huh?"

"You heard what I said, Mello. Please do not be too upset. Though, if I know you at all, I'd say that you will spontaneously combust."

Mello looked at the camera blankly for what was probably a moment. His blue eyes began to dilate and he stood up like a bolt of lightening, his fists clenched and ready to punch even though Near was in a completely different wing of the castle.

"What in fuck do you mean go to war? You've got me, right? What else do you want?" His voice was strained, nearly hoarse.

"I told you, the land."

"You asshole-"

"You will be so busy here, princess, you will not even notice-"

"Not notice what?" He was screaming now. "The screams of my people?"

"I will work to make sure their extermination is humane, my princess." Near's voice sounded slightly amused but serious at the same time. "Although, with my being here and not at the front lines, it will be hard to ensure this. Do not hold it against me."

Near turned the mute back on and watched as Mello's mouth moved violently. He had a pretty good idea at what was being said.

* * *

"What's wrong?"

Raito looked up from the ground to where Matt was walking beside him, having just called his attention. They had entered a thin forest and come out on the other side in only a couple of hours and the sun was shining brightly and beginning to dry their wet clothes. Matt had noticed the way Raito's head was bobbing like he was tired and then he stopped talking after a while, his eyelids drooping.

"Oh… oh, no, I'm fine," he said and put a hand up to his forehead. "It's just those girls…"

"Do you deal with them every time you pass by here?"

"Well, frequently yes, but mostly I'm so quiet passing by that they don't know I'm here," he said and gave Matt a shrewd look.

"I said sorry, all right?" he groaned.

Raito nodded. "I know, I know." He made a soft sound and rubbed the palm of his hand up against his mouth and pulled away some of Misa's pink lipstick from the side of his mouth.

Matt watched him. "Seriously, do you want to lay down or something? You don't look too good. We could rest-"

"No, it's all right. Really, Mello's waiting…" He grunted and then fell down on one knee, holding himself up just by his hand on the ground below.

Matt cam down beside him with a gasp and could feel his sword in his belt loop, scraping against the ground. "Hey!" he shouted in Raito's ear. "Hey, Yagami!"

"Dammit, Matt," he grumbled, leaning back. "I'm tired, not deaf."

"Oh… sorry. Here, let's rest for a bit. Mello will still be there when we arrive."

"Sure, he will. _Sans_ virginity."

"Don't make me smack you."

* * *

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: _FYI, for you non-French speakers. "Sans" means without. Thanks for reading and please tell me your thoughts! _


	10. The Beginning of Dark Times

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**ten.**

* * *

At the same time that Matt and Raito were walking out of the small thicket of trees away from the river, L and Matsuda made it off of the trail leading from Oaken Villa and saw there in the distance a forest. They walked up to it without fear in the bright daytime and saw the leaves in the trees rustling from the wings of birds settling in their nests.

L had been hoping for some awkward silence between him and Matsuda but then his wishes had always had a bad habit of never coming true. Since they had left their home in the wee hours of the morning, Matsuda had been talking nonstop about how good it would be to actually be considered a hero for rescuing Matt from the dangers of the two armies. Matsuda, being a boy born and raised in Oaken Villa and having never set foot very far from the gate, was enthralled to be risking life and limb for anything, whether it was a strange whom he didn't know all that well or anything else.

L, however, knew of what lay beyond the borders and knew that no matter how gallant and romantic most things seemed, things like getting your arm bitten off or your skin eaten off of your bone was not at all gallant or romantic. This was probably one of the most prominent points on L's list of Why Not To Take Matsuda Anywhere - the boy could be so dense sometimes. L hoped to make this a quick journey so as to not get either of them killed. Even if Matsuda was a bit of an annoying butterfly-chasing airhead, L did admittedly have a soft-spot for him (hidden way, way deep beneath the surface) and would never want anything to happen to him. In cases such as this, the saying "protect him from himself" seemed to apply.

"Matsuda," L hummed, looking at the young man from his hunched over position as the two walked side-by-side into the forest. Matsuda stopped his ramblings and looked over.

"Yes?"

"You must make me a promise, all right?"

Matsuda perked up. "Okay," he said.

"No matter what your instincts are, you must listen to me when I tell you something as we are traveling together. All right? If something happens, do not get distracted by butterflies or whatever may be floating by. Yes?"

"Err… right, okay," Matsuda said, trying to sound confidant. Why would L think that he wouldn't listen to him? It was a little insulting but even as Matsuda inwardly pouted over the implication, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they were in serious danger and a butterfly _did _pass him. Would they be in real trouble?

As Matsuda pondered this, the light from the sun was obstructed by the leaves above them and came down on their faces in little specks. The sound of dried leaves and fallen twigs crunching from under their shoes surrounded them and it seemed to be strangely warmer being trapped down there with the sunlight. Matsuda sighed and fanned at his neck.

"At this rate," L said mostly to himself, "it will be very hard to catch up with Matt."

"You mean our pace is too slow?" Matsuda asked.

"Yes, that… I'm basing this strictly on the assumption that Matt isn't dead yet."

Matsuda's jaw dropped and he stared as L continued to walk ahead of him. The younger man scrambled to catch up. "Dead yet? You mean you don't have any faith in him either? You're like Aizawa and Rodger!"

"I'm no such thing. I am logical, while they are simply jerks." L looked up. "Really, Matsuda, Navariel is one of the most dangerous places and he, a foreigner, is traveling alone with only a map."

"But… but he has that rock he bought from you, also…"

"For all I know, that rock's only means of attack could be to be launched at someone's head."

"… You mean-"

"That rock he bought could be nothing but a piece of earth."

"What? But why in the world would you sell it to him?" he wailed, hysteric with grief.

"At the time, it seemed like a good idea."

Matsuda blinked and sighed. He stood there for a moment as L continued to walk, once again leaving Matsuda behind to catch up. The dark-haired young man looked to the side, thinking if Matt really was dead, what in the world would they do? He was about to start walking again when something caught his eye in the underbrush. Something was moving and as he was about to dismiss it as a bird, a little cat came out, looking u at him and swishing its bushy black tail from side to side.

"Aw," Matsuda whispered, not wanting to scare it. He kneeled down with his hands planted firmly on his knees and looked at it with a smile. "Hello there, little guy!"

"Matsuda," L called, not bothering to look behind himself. "Do not entertain the wild life."

"But it's so cute, L!" Matsuda reached out a hand to pet it and the cat let him fondly.

"Many things are cute."

"Oh, he has friends! Hello everyone!"

"And I've already expressed that we are lacking time."

"How affectionate you all are."

"So, again I say, that we must continue on."

"All right, I'm coming… Ooh, what pretty eyes. Hey, L, these cats have red eyes! Is that rare?"

"… Red eyes?" L stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, wishing that what was painfully obvious just wouldn't be. But, of course, it was and L came upon the sight of Matsuda kneeling by a bunch of red-eyed, small Kogs, some of them stepping onto Matsuda's shoes and licking at him.

"Haha, they're so sweet. … What's wrong, L?"

* * *

"I believe an immediate course of action is necessary."

Near stared down in front of him where a large board of chess was set up on the carpet. Each square was almost three inches in diameter and each piece was big enough for I to take up all of Near's palm. The two sides were set up, the white pieces in lines in front of Near and on the other side, the white. Near fiddled idly with the top of his white queen and the blue glow from the screens cast uniform shadows on the board as he moved the piece back and forth.

"Don't you think?" he asked, his cheek leaning into his raised knee. His gray eyes looked up from the board at the blond man standing at attention beside both Gevanni and Hal. The man's hat was held in front of him in his tightened hand and he seemed to be staring just over Near's head, which the young King didn't mind.

"Anything you command," Commander Lester said, lowering his gaze. "But do you really think they're that much of a problem? To send five regiments out at once is-"

"A bit drastic," Gevanni mumbled.

Near shot him a look. "I cannot understand you when you mumble, Gevanni."

The dark-haired man perked up, grinning sheepishly at Hal, who turned away as if to say _Don't look at me for help. _Gevanni looked back over at Near and said louder, "I was just saying that Oriciel is a very pacifist Kingdom despite the princess's violent tendencies. Their armies in the West are not very strong."

"I made a promise," Near said meaningfully. He spun the white queen around on the board. "I told Mello I would try to make their deaths as humane as possible. After all, this is an extermination, not a massacre," he said and lifted his head up, his gray eyes sparkling underneath his bangs. He said it in such a soft, _sweet_ way that it made Gevanni fight a shiver as well as Hal and Lester just seemed unfazed.

Lester nodded. "I understand."

"So," Near hummed and moved forth five of the white pawns, one steps up. "Let's move out at dawn."

"Yes."

"If we break through the gates of Caranteen, it won't just be the army," Hal interjected attentively. She focused on Near's hunched over figure and in the back of the room, the train was stuck on the tracks, its whistle calling out in a sort of distress signal. Hal continued, "It'll be Navarielians as well…"

"We could block the desert. The Gatekeeper will keep them back," Gevanni said, looking at her.

"You know that isn't true. Ashami will let them have the run of the place. It will be _violent _once they invade Oriciel, your Highness," Hal urged.

Gevanni nodded.

Near raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember asking either of you on your opinion in this matter. As far as this is concerned, I will consult with Lester. Is that understood?"

Hal seemed to take the statement with a grain of salt and nodded quietly, averting her eyes to Lester, interested in what he would say. But of course, he would never go against Near's wishes, this Hal knew.

"Oriciel's armies will come through the Western Gate of Caranteen. If we leave in the morning, we can possibly beat them before they get too far into the desert but it would be prudent not to do so. If we draw them out to fight us in the desert, they will be completely uncovered and exposed whereas seeing how forested a land Oriciel is, if we fought them in their own territory, we would be at a disadvantage," Lester said, eyes focused on how Near kept spinning the queen in its spot on the board.

Near sighed and looked up, the blue glow from the screens watching Princess Mello as he walked about the room. He had gone a bit hoarse after cursing Near out in the last hour and now couldn't find the voice to even mumble under his breath. He just walked around the room like a caged panther in a very nice dress.

"Draw them out, then," Near said, watching as Mello ran a hand through his messy blond hair. "Hold our citizens back, if you can, but spare no one. We will handle this quickly and quietly, like an atomic bomb wiping out everyone in one fell swoop."

"Yes, your Highness." The Commander turned on his heel and headed towards the door when Near's voice stopped him.

"Commander," he called.

"Yes, your Highness?"

"Leave tomorrow when I give my signal to you instead of at dawn."

"Yes, your Highness."

* * *

"Matt, stop looking at me like that."

"You look _bad_."

"Thank you," Raito said, rolling his eyes. He did look bad, though. His face had gone rather grayish and even though he rubbed at it every two minutes, the lipstick print still lingered at the side of his mouth. Matt had guessed that he had been poisoned but one of the girls' kiss but when he asked about it, concerned, Raito told him that only a little had gotten in and that he would be fine in a while.

"Well," Matt sighed, giving Raito one final wary look before turning away, "I guess you know this stuff better than I do. It's just, where I'm from, poison no matter how little an amount always has some deadly side affects."

"Oh, it's not the poison that's deadly," Raito said.

"It's not?"

"They're deadly. The poison only lulls you to sleep so that they can have their way with men. When they finish, they take him underwater. Of course, he can't survive underwater, so he dies. But they keep him anyway."

Matt looked at Raito again, an eyebrow raised. "Is this in the guidebook? How'd you know that?"

"Oh, I've seen it happen."

Matt gaped. "Good God, that's horrible! Didn't you try to save him?"

Raito gave him a glare that was watered down with fatigue. "Not everyone is a brave hero all the time, Matt," he said and continued walking.

"You're pretty brave," Matt said. "You know a lot."

"_Knowing_ doesn't mean too much."

"It obviously does here."

Raito shook his head. "The things I tell you are common knowledge. Honestly, I think you're just a little slow. But don't take offence to that."

Matt frowned. "Thanks, I won't…"

The two continued on the bright path that was no longer covered with the leaves of the trees overhead as they had left those far behind. There was a plain path that they'd been walking on much like the one out of Oaken Villa and on either side, there were occasionally some rocks but other than that, nothing. Matt, having had enough of Raito's irritation conversation skills, pulled out his map from his back pocket and unrolled it.

"Okay," he said aloud, "well, according to this, the next town straight ahead is Perry Town. But that's a pretty long distance… if we wanna stop, there's this little town a feel miles out of the way."

Raito shook his head. "No, no, we shouldn't make any unscheduled stops."

"Hn, you're right… and we do have enough food to last us at least until we get to Perry Town."

"Yes. Also-"

"AHHH!"

Matt jumped back when, from behind a large boulder on the side of the road, a green thing popped out five feet in front of them. Matt hit the dust with a thud and Raito grunted out of fear, taking a step back. Whatever it was, it was twisted all around itself in the fashion of a tornado. Out of one of its green swirls came a large array of jagged teeth bunched up together and sticking out like knifes. It made little sound, only a menacing humming that came from it in surround sound. It bounced and coiled around itself, all the time that serrated mouth pointed at Matt and Raito.

"W-W-What the fuck is it?" Matt stuttered, scrambling to his feet. He fumbled out his sword, nearly cutting himself with it as he pointed it to the beast. "_Stats_, Yagami, I need stats! Attack, defense! Magic abilities!" Matt was fast becoming hysterical.

Raito handled Matt's frenzy quite well and steadied himself from shaking. "I-It's a Jacte. I can't believe I forgot they were around here…"

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET?" Matt wailed.

Raito shook his head. "Just calm down, relax! You can do this, Matt, just-"

The Jacte lunged forward, springing on its hindquarters at lightning speed. Matt just barely ducked and Raito jumped out of the way. When Matt rose again, the shoulder of his shirt was torn and beneath it, he could see a small cut on his skin.

"Jesus, it barely _touched_ me!" Matt shouted, looking back at it standing where he once did.

"Hurry up," Raito shouted.

Matt nodded and grunted with the force he was putting behind the sword as he charged forward. He swiped through was he expected to be the Jacte but was really air and when he opened his eyes, confronted with a dark shadow on the ground beneath him, he looked up in time to see the Jacte coming back down to earth and rolled out of the way, getting his other sleeve torn clean off when the Jacte rolled after him on the ground. Matt gave a series of high-pitched screams as the thing chased him and Matt didn't even have enough time to get up, he just rolled along the ground with the Jacte a foot behind him all the way, making that hungry-humming noise.

Matt dropped the sword as he rolled along the ground and bellowed, "YAGAMI!"

"Agh! Matt, you idiot, you dropped it! Pick it _up_!" Raito yelled angrily as he stood off into the grass just beside the road. He watched, horrified, as the Jacte came closer to Matt every second and Matt had no way to protect himself. At hearing the screams, Raito finally ran over, grabbed the sword with one hand and jumped over Matt as he came back around, landing on top of the Jacte and plunging the sword down into one of the coils. He brought the blade down in one smooth swipe and tore it clean in half.

"Ah - Mmf!" Matt yelled, turning around and getting splattered in the face with an odd substance that jetted from the cut of the beast.

Raito jumped back off, soaked a fair amount with the substance as well, and stood a foot away, breathing slightly hard. He held the sword tightly in his right hand.

Matt staggered to his feet. "That… that was nuts…"

"Don't _ever_ drop your sword, are you insane? You could've died!"

"It was so heavy," Matt countered tiredly, "I couldn't get away properly!"

"You aren't supposed to get away at all! What if we had been in Navariel! If you were at the King's feet and fighting for Mello, would you try to run away?" Raito asked, eyes narrowed.

"Of course not-"

"Then don't do it now!"

Matt was quiet, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He looked at Raito for a long moment and then back at the dead Jacte. Raito came over and pushed the hilt of the sword back into Matt's hand. Matt looked at him, surprised.

"Let's go," Raito said and turned on his heel.

* * *

"MATSUDA!"

"I'M SO SORRY, I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T KNOW!"

L and Matsuda ran through the density of Kog Forest as a troop of Kogs followed them, some speeding through the boughs of the trees and others coming on foot, their large paws beating hard on the ground below. When they all stepped together, Matsuda and L nearly went flying off of the ground. Everywhere they turned, there were a pair of blood-red eyes.

"W-What do we do?" Matsuda shouted, keeping up with L but with a feet foot distance between them. Matsuda swung around the trunk of a tree and came out on the other side, dodging and jumping over fallen trunks.

"They'll only chase us to the end of the forest," L called back, arms and legs pumping like mad. "If we can get out, we'll be all right!"

"W-What if we don't?" Matsuda cried.

L didn't bother to answer.

Matsuda turned his head to look forward, to concentrate on just getting out, but squeaked loudly when the face of a Kog came down from the tree above him and lingered in his face, jaws open and saliva dripping from its teeth. Matsuda skidded to the side and ran straight into L, knocking him off balance and sending the two sliding down into a ditch. L fell underneath Matsuda and the younger male hit his head on a low-swinging branch, knocking him out cold. When they hit the bottom of the ditch, the mud and leaves comforting their fall, L looked up through bleary vision and saw the man's closed eyes.

"Matsuda? Matsuda," he whispered harshly, at the same time rolling his eyes upward. He heard the Kogs' footsteps.

Matsuda said nothing, didn't even open his eyes.

"Matsuda-"

There was a growl above him then and L jerked his head up, looking into two pairs of red eyes. L groaned inwardly and took Matsuda by the shoulders, hugging him close.

* * *

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: _Thanks for reading. Please tell me your thoughts, readers, because I take a LONG time to update when I'm not motivated! XD_


	11. Get Hyped!

A/N: _Yes, I know that was over a week. Really, I'm sorry, but I only have one more week of school. Try to hang in there with me. Thank you ALL for your encouragement!_

* * *

**Anyway, Brave Hero**

**eleven.**

* * *

"Nn… L…?"

"Shh," L shushed as Matsuda's eyes began to open. The younger male looked up into L's worried face as he regained consciousness. He blandly wondered what was going on until he felt some sort of liquid on his shoulder and tilted his head back to see three large faces of the transformed Kogs, all drooling through their canines and growling down at the two of them in the ditch. Matsuda would've, under normal circumstances, been panicking and in a weird way he sort of was - little alarms going off in the back of his mind - but he just felt so tired and there was this throbbing and he really just wanted to go to sleep.

He averted his eyes back to L, the tenses look on his face and vaguely muttered an "I'm sorry," to the older man. Matsuda had little idea of what was wrong but had a hunch that he had done something not-so-smart again to get L angry with him and so, for that, he was sorry. He only wished that he could help. But then, as he felt his body move without any help from its owner, he wondered just what was it he could do. It looked like L had it all under control, as usual. Was L really lifting him onto his back? And oh, there was a huge pack of Kogs right in front of them getting closer and finally all Matsuda saw was black hair all around him.

There was the far-off sound of footsteps and Matsuda could hear - no, feel - L's heartbeat somewhere around his own. There were trees then and the Kogs were behind them, all following with lusty red eyes, all transfixed on the two of them.

Watch out, L! he wanted to shout but was just too tired to say much. He may have mumbled something but he wasn't sure if L even heard. A Kog jumped from the boughs of a tree just up ahead and blocked them off, causing L to slid down on the ground and skid underneath the beast, grabbing the fur coating his back left leg and swinging around, keeping one hand on Matsuda's back to secure him as he swung the two of them onto the confused Kog's tail and they ended up on the back of the large cat. L flipped Matsuda over his shoulder and sat him in front, slouching and looking blearily eyed as L leaned forward and pulled on the Kog's long, pointed ears.

The beast yelped and reared back, turning around in three complete circles before running in the direction L intended. The others followed suit, all seeing the two on the back of their comrade. L looked back and pulled harder on the ears, urging the Kog to go faster. It jumped onto the trunk of a nearby tree and launched itself up into the thick leaves, brushing the foliage up and surrounding L and Matsuda.

Matsuda blinked and faintly shielded his eyes by raising his hand up and before he knew it, the sun was bursting through to him in giant rays and the two of them were on top of the trees, running at lightning speed, the leaves below like waves of emerald. Matsuda turned his head and saw that, one by one, the other Kogs were jumping up from the forest below and running after them, hopping from branch to branch so quickly that they barely bounced under all the weight.

"Matsuda? Are you all right?" L asked, looked down. He was almost yelling but Matsuda could hear it only as just above a whisper.

He nodded and smiled. "Yeah… I'm good…" He looked back again and then up at L. "Are those the cute little cats, L?"

L seemed to frown. "Yes, I suppose."

"They're not so cute anymore though…"

"Which is why I shouldn't be ignored-"

"WAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" The high-pitched frequency pierced through the daytime air, reaching L and Matsuda's ears like a thin thunderbolt. Matsuda's hands then flew up to his ears in attempt to block the horrible noise but it was no use and L had no choice but to hold on rigidly to the Kog's ears of they would go flying off. Matsuda turned his head with his hands fixed on his ears and saw the other Kogs, their mouths open, the sounds coming from them. They must've been calling out to their friend who had been taken captive.

As if to prove that theory, the Kog that L and Matsuda were seated on returned the loud cry and Matsuda pushed his hands up closer to his ears.

"M-Maybe we should let it go, L!" Matsuda shouted, finally finding his voice. His ears were ringing.

L's eyes seemed to be unfocused as he looked ahead, the sun bouncing in the east. "If we do that now, we'll die for certain!"

"But… that sound…"

L's mind raced, as did his eyes. The sound was getting to him as the entire pack joined in the forlorn cry and he had not even the shield of his own hands to help him out. He made a rash decision, mind cluttered by the shrill cries, and pulled down hard on the Kog's ears, forcing the cat down into the forest again, the leaves raising and falling around them. Matsuda screamed at the sudden downfall and they landed at the edge of the forest, the Kog turning around at the edge, facing the others that came down from the trees, all standing in a row of about twenty, red eyes glaring.

Matsuda stiffened up against L. "W-What now?" he asked, looking up. He was waiting for that sound to erupt from their throats again but it didn't and he was caught in anticipation.

"Matsuda," L said, voice tight.

He looked up. "Huh…?"

"You're going to have to get off here, all right?" he said, eyes on the Kogs ahead.

It took Matsuda a moment to comprehend what L was saying and when he didn't move even then, L gave him a hard shove in the side and Matsuda fell off of the side of the beast, hitting the dirt with a hard thud. He sat up, yelping in pain, and looked up at L with wide, watery eyes. "W-What'd you do that for? Why am I staying here?"

"You're not, you're going to go ahead. I'm going to go back into the forest and lose these guys."

"L-"

"I'll meet up with you later. They won't stop chasing us just because we've gone out of their boundaries now, they look like they've been hungry for too long-"

The Kogs began to growl and click their teeth, scratching their nails against the ground. The Kog L was on was getting antsy as well, swishing his tail back and forth in an anxious manner. L looked down at Matsuda now and said loudly, "Please continue on." And without waiting for Matsuda's response, whether it be an objection or a compliance, he charged forward into the thicket and the sound of howling and growls erupted from the foliage. Matsuda cringed and scrambled to his feet. He stared into the forest but only saw the tail of the Kog L had ridden into the others. He stared for what seemed like a long time but was only a few minutes and he turned on his heel and continued on.

* * *

"Are you mad?"

Raito glanced over at Matt with a perturbed look on his face, his eyes half lidded and an eyebrow raised. Matt sighed, thinking that was the answer to his question, a resounding "yes" but then Raito sighed and shook his head. He said, "No, not really. I… forget that you're not used to all of this."

Matt shrugged. "Yeah. I mean… I've never had to use a sword before." His eyes rolled upward in thought. "I mean, I was thinking it wouldn't be much different from using the Beam Sword on Super Smash Bros… but I guess I was wrong," he sighed.

Raito sent him a confused look. "You know, I have no clue what you're talking about."

"… No, probably not…" Matt looked around as they continued. "You think there are anymore of those Jacte things around?" He put his hand on the hilt of his sword protectively.

"Yes, probably."

"Wonderful…" Matt thought for a second. "You know, maybe you should hold on to my sword for a while. If we see anymore, well," he said, fumbling to take it from his belt loop. He held it out to Raito as they came to a slow halt. "Well, you're just really good at it and I'm… not…"

Raito looked back at him for a long moment, his eyes racing along the length of the blade before he turned around and continued to walk on the path. "Don't be silly," he called without looking back. "I'm a mailman, you know."

"Yeah!" Matt raced ahead to catch up. "A mailman who knows how to kick serious bogey-ass!" He held it out again. "Please, Raito? I don't want to be the reason we get a game over!"

Raito groaned. "No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"I could go on like this all day."

"Ugh!"

"You saw the way I was with that Jacte back there! I almost shit myself!"

Raito rolled his eyes at the terminology Matt used and finally turned to him, stopping once again. He gave Matt a look of resigning and Matt thought for a brief moment he had won until Raito said, "Okay, Matt, you're right. I'll just have to teach you how to handle combat a little better."

"… Huh?"

Raito smiled slightly. "Once you get used to fighting me, you'll be all right against everything else. Or, most things, at least. Hmm." Raito walked to the side and saw a large stick laying in the grass. Matt watched his movements as the brunet picked it up and tossed it up and down in his hand, feeling the weight of it. He smirked and took it in both of his hands, tightening his grip as he walked back over to the path. He said, "All right. Come at me with everything you've got."

Matt blinked. "You're going to use wood? Raito, you'll be hurt, dude!"

"You just worry about yourself. Now, come on."

Matt seemed to hesitate, only for a bit, until Raito's reassuring glance told him it was all right and he charged forward, letting out a battle cry that sounded strangely like something taken from World of Warcraft. Raito waited calmly for a second until Matt's sword came directly at him and Raito stepped to the side, causing Matt to fall flat on his face, his sword falling out of his hand. Raito brought his stick down on the boy's head and Matt bellowed, grasping his skull and rolling over.

"W-What the fuck?"

"You are so unprepared. Try again."

Matt growled and stood up, grasping the hilt of his sword as he did so. "Yeah, yeah…" He stood tensely as Raito moved backwards, their eyes locking. Matt thought it would be a good idea to have a 'surprise' attack this time, inside of waving himself around madly. So he took a step forward like he was circling Raito and once he got close enough, swung his sword with all his might at Raito's side. Raito blocked it by moving his stick up just an inch and then swiped it across Matt's face.

"AGH!" Matt cried, stumbling backwards, his hands on his face and his sword on the floor. "You're trying to hurt me!" he accused through his hands.

Raito shook his head. "I'm only blocking you. You can't expect me to go easy on you, Matt, because no one will."

"Ah, for fuck's sake… yeah, I know that but… can't you, I dunno, lower your power level or something? S'fucking over nine-thousand right now… shit…"

"I don't have a power level," Raito urged, highly confused.

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Ready to go again?"

"All right, just a second. Let the world stop vibrating first."

Raito laughed and Matt glared but at that time, neither one was aware that they were being watched.

* * *

Mello didn't know much about the layout of Near's castle since he had originally been brought there in a sack. Even when he had been called upon a while ago to come to Near so that they could speak face-to-face, he had spent too much time in the hallways fighting and cussing at the guards to really notice where he was going or how to get there. So as he was being abducted from his room once again and dragged down the halls of the palace, he had no clue where he was going and really didn't care at that point.

"HEY! TELL ME WHERE YOU'RE TAKING ME!"

"Princess, we're just going-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Mello shouted, kicking and flailing in the guards' grasp.

One looked at the other and they shared a tired expression. They had always wondered just why they were always asked to deal with Mello when there were so many other things they could be doing, like cutting their wrists or some such. They continued on down the hallway, dragging Mello between the two of them and finally came to a large red pair of double doors. The first guard opened it and they came inside.

The light, different from the harsh blue lighting out in the hallway, was orange and the soft glow of candles shone around him. He felt the plush carpet under him as he was thrown down by the guards into the room and before he could attempt to retaliate or threaten them, the doors were shut right in front of him.

"Mello, over here," called a soft voice.

Mello turned rigid at hearing it and looked up from where he lay on the floor, seeing a large wooden table with chairs surrounding it. As he tilted his head to the side, he saw Gevanni and Hal standing a few feet away from the middle of the table and they were looking at him with expressions of wariness and anxiety.

Mello sighed and climbed to his feet, finding Near at the other end of the table and seeing that the soft candle light was coming from close to fifty aromatic candles seated on the tabletop. Near was in his usual position at the head of the table with a large mound of dice in front of him that h built up even as he spoke.

"Please, join me over here."

"What's this about now?" Mello asked, glaring.

"Well," Near said as he looked up, "I know you were quite irate with me before-"

"I still am."

"-however, I thought it would be a good idea if we discussed these things." Near smirked a little. "Ruler to ruler." He gestured towards the seat next to him and Mello narrowed his eyes but couldn't help the want for a chance to possibly save millions of his people from slaughter. Maybe Near would listen. Maybe.

So Mello resigned himself and sighed, walking with his head held high across the floor that was soft under his bare feet and the ruffles of his light blue dress waving lightly as he made his way to the seat. Gevanni and Hal's eyes watched him but he paid them no mind as he sat next to Near and pulled his seat in.

Near smiled, looking down at his dice. "Gevanni, please have something brought to the princess. He must be very hungry."

Mello huffed, waving away the statement. "I ate chocolate."

"But that was over five hours ago, Mello."

"What? You record the times when I eat?" Mello screeched, horrified.

"Now, now, that's not important…" Near placed a few die down in stacks, turning them all so that they were facing the same sides. "Tell me, princess, what does the name Matt mean to you?"

Mello paused. "… Matt."

"That's right. Someone you know?"

Matt. Mello thought about it for a second before remembering that boy in Dakota's waterfall in his room. And he faintly remembered being told about him in a letter sometime before. He was the one who was supposed to be rescuing him along with… Raito… That same kid who was howling about Mello giving away his virginity for the sake of the Kingdom, which he still had, coincidentally. Yes, Mello remembered Matt. But now that his plan for Near had gone horribly awry, Mello was running low on options and he was sort of depending on Matt and Raito to come for him, as much as he hated it.

Mello looked at Near and shook his head. "Nope, never heard the name before."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"That's interesting…" Near mused and as he continued to pile blocks on top of one another in an intricate manner, Gevanni came around the table from another door - when did he even leave? Mello wondered - and sat down a plate of food in front of Mello. Mello eyed it with disdain but some hunger - it had been over five hours since that chocolate bar. So Mello decided to screw it and that he wouldn't starve himself for Near's amusement. But, out of spite for Near, he neglected the fork and dove into the spaghetti face-first.

"It's interesting," Near continued, "because this was recently found in your room…"

Gevanni, who was back at his spot beside Hal, held up a piece of paper and read aloud, "Dear Princess, Hi! It's me again, Matsuda. You have never answer any of my letters, even when you weren't kidnapped but that's okay. I'm sure it must be very tough being kidnapped. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that we've sent your boyfriend, Matt, to rescue you! He's on his way right now but he may be in danger as he does not know much about our Kingdoms. Let's cheer him on, all right? Write back! - Matsuda."

By the end of the letter, Mello had stopped ravaging his noodles and raised his head up, his face covered in red sauce and bits of garlic. He blinked at Gevanni who was looking over the top of the paper at him shrewdly. Near merely continued stacking.

"I… well, hell, I mean I don't know the kid! He's like a fan or something, fuck if I know…" Mello mumbled.

Near shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Mello, I'm not upset. I've sent someone to deal with it."

"… Deal with it?"

"With Matt," he said matter-of-factly. "He and whoever is accompanying him will be dead in a day so there is no need to worry about an obsessed fan coming for you, princess. You're safe here."

Mello's face suddenly became thunderous but before he could shout, holler and maim, he let out a breath and turned to the side.

_You idiots, go back,_ he thought.

* * *

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: Thanks for waiting, please review! Next one wont take as long. XD


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